


Changing destinies

by Summerlake



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Genderbending, Genderswap applies to full cast, Implied Sexual Content, Post-Ganondorf, Rule 63
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 11:20:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 49,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3486314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Summerlake/pseuds/Summerlake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why did Zelda insist on turning back time now that the battle was won? Link had all the time in the world before this but now, when she needs it the most, there doesn't seem to be enough time left to convince Zelda not to send the heroine of Time on one last trip. What do you do when words aren't enough? How strong an action can be taken... and forgiven?</p><p>Rated M for adult situations in chapter 8 and 11 (nothing graphic though).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Severed destiny

**Author's Note:**

> Complete genderswapped cast, excluding: King Zora, King of Hyrule and Darunia's son. (The likelihood of seeing any of these in the story is close to nil though.)  
> A serious attempt at writing a complete rule 63'd cast and still keep their characters intact. Names remain unaltered (because most of the time I abhor names changing with the sex for canon characters).  
> End notes will hold links to any art related to the fic

“It’s time.” Link looked up, her thoughts having unwittingly eaten all of her attention.

“Huh?” Despite her momentary lapse, the prince didn’t give her grief. They had, after all, or more precisely she had, with a bit of aid from him and the goddesses, just beaten the enemy of the land of Hyrule and the Sacred Realm, Ganondorf.

“It is time to set right that which was forced out of time and place,” Zelda announced without much fanfare but still managing to make it sound so official and royal. He was really made of true royal blood. Even as they stood here, in the damaged Temple of Time, having just returned everything to order and mere moments ago having almost _felt_ the land let out a sigh of relief as life began seeping back into it, Zelda managed to sound as though he was in a throne room filled to the brim with people awaiting his next decree. He had elegance, poise and quiet determination without appearing haughty or over the top.

 _Hyrule will not want for much, despite her good king having passed on_ , Link thought with a smile as she watched the royal heir and Prince of Destiny as he stood in front of her. She blinked as she suddenly noticed that he held the Ocarina of Time.

“But—how? Didn’t I—?” she stared at the instrument dumbfound and then began to pat herself down. Had she dropped it at some point during the last fight or the walk to the temple? Zelda actually graced her with a gently amused smile before sobering up again.

“The Ocarina of Time heeds the call of the royal family of Hyrule, always. Had I needed it at any point in time after I passed it to you that fateful day, I would simply have needed to open my mouth and ask for it. The problem would have been to get it _back_ to you again,” he said the last bit with a humorous smile and Link couldn’t help but reciprocate with the same. Well, true, that would have been an odd thing, having Sheik come up to her with the ocarina and hacking out some vague explanation. She could just picture it. She let out a short chuckle into the fist that went up to cover her mouth as she saw the sheikah in her mind, trying to avoid eye contact and blushing as she tried to avoid Link’s questions. Zelda had never been one for coming up with fanciful or creative lies.

“Link…” At the mention of her name, her attention perked up and she met the other’s blue eyes. So somber. Why? They’d done great, survived, saved Hyrule and the Sacred Realm and now all that remained was to rebuild all that was lost and—

“I want to say thank you before we part.”

—and… “What?” She blinked up at him, uncomprehending. “W… what do you mean? Part?” He smiled down at her, but it was a sad expression somewhat tinged with regret and an almost tired feeling.

“This, while all good and, goddesses granted, truly the end of any threat, is not how it’s meant to be. You lost seven years of your life to simply sleeping. It must be set to rights again.”

Link’s brow furrowed as she stared up at Zelda. He couldn’t be saying that.

“B-but won’t all that we’ve done be undone if we turn back time?” she tried, somehow knowing she was trying to stall, trying to buy time ironically, but not really sure why or for what reason. Just… just that she _had_ to have more time. Had to… _something_! Why did it elude her now? Navi, usually so good at sensing her distress and give good support and advice, stayed uncharacteristically silent where he hovered some way above her head.

“Nay, it will not,” Zelda replied with a shake of her head. “The threat to the mortal and divine realm has been dealt with. The magic and the goddesses’ grace will hold the fiend back even while we turn back time and set things to right.”

Right?! No! No, no, no. It wasn’t right! It was all wrong. They couldn’t part now, she couldn’t leave!

“B... but!”

“This is how it needs to be. When the tune falls silent, please step forth and return the Master Sword to its resting place,” Zelda said with a smile that sang of farewell so loudly it screeched in Link’s ears.

“But… what about us? Will we never meet again?” At that, the prince’s countenance lightened as a true smile touched his lips.

“We will. I am sure of it. I don’t even need the goddesses’ grace to be sure of that, Link.” The way he said her name… For just a moment, it made her forget all about why she was distressed in the first place as she could only stare into those deep sky-blue eyes. Was this the first time he’d said it without horror, sobriety or relief inflecting his words?The moment only lasted for as long as Zelda held that warm look in his eyes though. The instant the seriousness returned, the ice-cold waters of reality were dumped over Link’s head.

“But what will happen when I return the Master Sword? Will time just rewind like…?”

“Like always? Yes, it will, and you will have your years back to live and grow into the woman you’re meant to be. At your own pace this time. Not forced because your skill and courage are required.”

It was meant to be reassuring, gratitude that she’d offered up part of her life to come here and fight for the future of her homeland… but it left Link’s heart cold.

No, it couldn’t… She just couldn’t… go back? Go back and live out those seven years she’d missed? Been robbed off, as Zelda seemed to see it. Go back… Back to the Kokiri village, back to the Deku Tree, back to those of her childhood, back to the days of playing with Saria, back to the fighting with Mido, back to the lazy days. Go back to the slow and awkward growing up and letting all those she had loved and trusted know she truly wasn’t one of them. Would they see it as her having deceived them all their life even if she hadn’t known herself? Back to possibly being cast out by those she loved? Back to having to _wait_ another seven years to be where now felt so normal? Back to waiting for seven unnatural, as it now felt, years to stand by Zelda again? Back to…

“No!”

“What?” Very short and very informal, it suited the equally informal and confused surprise that colored Zelda’s face at that moment in response to her outburst.

“No! It just—it can’t! I can’t! You can’t! We can’t! I… No.” She was shaking her head now, unsure if it was just her imagination or if the rest of her was humming or outright shaking in tune with her budding mental breakdown.

“Link…”

“No. I can’t… I can’t go back. You don’t understand.” She wasn’t stupid, she could see all that could happen during those seven years. Why couldn’t Zelda? “I… It’s better this way! Less painful. Just… better.” She was babbling, she could feel it. It was as though she was standing apart from herself, watching her body go on without her, without a brain to put together sentences and give good arguments. Would that win the day though? At the moment, her mind couldn’t come up with a good answer to even that. Why now? Despite all she’d gone through and seen during her travels, _now_ her mind decided it was enough? Was it because it had been building all this time and now when the last battle was won the flood gates could stop groaning under the weight and just let go? So many sacrifices over the course of her travels, her battles… Why did they come crashing down on her now when she needed her wit?

“Link, I…” Zelda shook his head gently, hand having gone out to touch Link’s shoulder but stopped halfway there. Putting the Ocarina of Time down on the black-topped altar, Zelda placed both hands on the young woman’s shoulders, stilling her actually vibrating form. So she had been shaking, if even just lightly, some distant part of her said mostly to itself.

Link’s field of vision filled up with blue as Zelda leaned down to be on eye level with his champion of Time, the nearly “one head taller” advantage working against him for once. Trying to concentrate on anything to say, any argument that could win this for her, Link blinked rapidly as Zelda’s calm, sincere eyes watched her.

“Link, dear Link. This needs to be done. We will part for now, yes, but you managed to sneak into the castle once. You can do it again and after that, I’ll see to it that you have full access to come in whenever you want. If that will even be necessary. I’m sure you’ll prove yourself more than worthy to stand beside me in the eyes of anyone who would dare to question it. But you need your years back. You need to be allowed to grow up in peace. We _all_ need those years.”

“You’re wrong,” Link choked out, unaware that she was fighting tears until Zelda raised a hand to dry them away with his white-gloved fingers. “ _I_ am the only one who lost any time. The rest of you all grew up, had your seven years, albeit not in peace, but you had them. I didn’t, but I don’t need them. I don’t want them. And I grew up. I grew up during this journey, during this fight!” She swallowed hard before being able to continue, Zelda’s warm eyes always watching her. She just _had_ to make him see, see that it didn’t matter to her. She didn’t need those seven years, didn’t want them. She just wanted… now. Here and now. And him.

Yes, that was it. She wanted nothing more than the here and now and him. That was all. She didn’t need those seven years, didn’t care for them if all they meant was that she would have to live through the awkwardness of growing out of her Kokiri home and leaving it behind, of having to meet everyone again who she had already made friends with, of having to wait for this time again to be this close to Zelda, of having to grow up when she was already an adult in mind due to all she’d seen…

“I’m all right as I am right now. I don’t mind. I don’t want to have the time, the years. I was never your average youngling to begin with. I wasn’t even your average kokiri,” she pleaded with the prince. At the last bit, an amused smile graced Zelda’s lips and an almost inaudible chuckle escaped.

“Indeed, you were not the average kokiri. You would not be here were you as much and it would be viewed as highly inappropriate for me to do this if you were.” Link blinked at her, confusion written all over her face as she opened her mouth to ask what he meant when he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her parted lips.

Shock and a thrumming, whirling sensation blew through her mind and danced down through her body from head to toe as though it contained a whirlpool. This—!

It was over far too quickly. She’d barely had time to get over the shock and close her eyes and enjoy the gentle gesture before the prince pulled away. Link opened her eyes to Zelda smiling warmly at her, straightening back up to his full height.

This she wanted. To stay, to stop time and just stand him by, always looking up at him. Why couldn’t she? Why not? She was the only one who needed to reclaim all those years and she didn’t even need them, didn’t want them either. Didn’t her wishes count for anything? Even after all she’d done for this land…

“May that warm you during our time apart and may it be enough to hold your heart together when times get rough. May it be enough to not make the time apart seem as long as it is.” He seemed to be speaking for them both, as though he was saying it as much for her benefit as for his own. There was a light strain to the muscles in his face as he watched her and spoke, as though he wanted to say something else, do something else, something more… but he picked the ocarina back up and raised it to his lips. Duty before all…

She’d sacrificed all to perform her duty, to save everyone… to save him. She would have sacrificed a lot more to save him... and even more to stay by his side now, to protect him further or do anything he needed of her.

“Farewell, Link. We will meet soon again,” the Prince of Destiny said with a smile and such finality as he raised the instrument the last stretch to touch his lips. The sound tore at her heart. She couldn’t… she just couldn’t…

“No! “

The sound rang through the building, the high temple walls amplifying it to a horrifying degree, making it sound like a screech of anger and sorrow. And then the heavy, echoing clunk as the severed ocarina fell to the floor between the prince’s feet.

Zelda stared at the empty air between his hands where the royal heirloom had been just moments ago. Link stared at the vacant spot too, Master Sword still grasped painfully hard in her hands with its tip pointing at the stone floor where it had ended after finishing its graceful yet deadly arc. She had perfected that swing through too many battle and now…

A moment passed, the silence seemingly killing the air, making anyone in the building unable to draw breath as no one seemed to be breathing. Then the usually rather calm and almost stoic prince slowly, painfully slow and almost staccato, turned his head down towards the floor, still wide eyes seeking out the broken instrument. Link followed, mirroring the other’s moves without even meaning to. Both stared at the instrument as the air began to choke upon itself in the temple.

Zelda was the first to make a noise. It wasn’t as much a word as the beginning sound of something that never came further than the first or second syllable. It took him a second try to get anything out.

“W… what…?”

What had she done? It was clear as day, bright as the first crackling light of Din’s Fire when activated and before the flame bursts forth in a white-hot flare. What… had she done? He didn’t even need to voice it. It was echoing in Link’s head already, an echo that was turning into a chant, a screaming chant that died abruptly when the harsh clatter of the Master Sword meeting the stone floor resounded throughout the building.

With empty hands, Link fell down to her knees. Hands reached out for the broken ocarina but stopped short of its personal space, just hovering above them as though the pieces were too holy to touch. Too holy for such a defiler who had dared cut it in two. She hadn’t known the Master Sword was that sharp. It was… It was…

Impossible, her mind screamed as numbness spread like wildfire all the way through her body. Impossible. No. Couldn’t happen. _Didn’t_ happen. No! It had survived so much else. It had… it just couldn’t break now. It couldn’t…

At what seemed like a snail's pace, because she didn’t really want to meet the other’s eyes, didn’t want to see what hid in those blue depths, Link raised her head to meet Zelda’s stoned countenance. At first, her mouth just worked up and down for a few tries until she found her voice.

“I… I’m sorry… I… I didn’t mean… This can’t be, right? It’s not permanent. It can be fixed… right?” Right? The question died before even leaving her throat. She treasured this instrument too, having spent most of her time since waking up in the Sacred Realm putting her lips to it and making it sing. But however much she may now have treasured it, she knew that the importance it held for her wasn’t anywhere near the significance it held for the prince, for the whole royal family. _Nowhere_ near… Goddesses help her.

“Z… Zelda.”

The prince moved his lips, but no sound came. Link drew her brows together as she watched the other, about to apologize again when a sound finally came from the royal heir’s lips. Harsh, harsh sounds she would remember many years from now, that would ring in her ears many a night from now. That would torment her dreams, accompanied by usually so friendly, almost loving, clear blue eyes now dancing with electrified anger.

“…out…”

Link opened her mouth to speak.

“Get out…”

“Z—”

“Get out of my city!”

If this had been one of the goddess stones, the high vaulted room would have filled with dancing arcs of electricity by now, but the hall remained empty… though the atmosphere was thick with the same weight that usually filled the air right before the heavens let forth its wrath in angry, white flashes that could sear your skin and mark the very rock itself.

Link grabbed her sword and fled. Never had she run so fast before. Out of the temple, through the overgrown temple yard with its tall stones with the truth-seeing eye decorating the top of it, through the market district where the corpses of re-deads now lay where they’d fallen after the power keeping them alive and hungering had died and all the way out of the ruined castle town. Out to her still waiting, ever faithful, horse. Up onto the beast and heels into his poor sides. Fast, faster, faster. Away, away, away. As far away as he could carry his mistress, as fast as he could go. Anywhere… just anywhere but there.

Away…

Away from livid, electrifying blue eyes.

Away from everything and anything.

Away from a fairy companion she hadn’t even heard calling after her as she fled.

Away to… where? To what? To whom?

Epona slowed down as he no longer could feel his mistress’ heels digging into his stomach, slowed until he was walking leisurely onwards without any direction. The reins were slack.

Ears flicked back, eagerly awaiting command. They always had somewhere to go, somewhere to be, someplace new or familiar to see. Where to now, mistress?

No reply.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Link, Zelda and Nabooru line up: http://jinsei.deviantart.com/art/Changing-destinies-main-trio-518511629
> 
> I'm trying to stay true to Link's personality (although the games never seem to give him much of one in my opinion...) except for one, single thing: the complete obedience to follow orders. I always thought it a bit odd that Link just went "alrighty! *thumbs up*" at Zelda when she informed him it was time to turn back time... AFTER ALL HE'D DONE. And no one would remember him. She'd still be the Princess of Destiny and heiress to the royal throne of Hyrule but Link has gotten his whole world turned upside down. She's sending him back to either grow up with the people he thought he belonged to or have no place to belong to (if he stays away from Kokiri Forest). And then he also loses Navi? Swell! I'd get a bit hysterical if not at least a bit annoyed. Only defence I have for genderswapping the main characters was the feeling that a female Link may actually try to stop Zelda (even if the accident with the Ocarina was an extreme outcome) while a male Link may just stoically agree and then go his own way (as he does) and suffer in silence. (Men.) And the rest of the cast...? They just got to tag along for the rule 63 ride. It seemed fitting. I also have no excuse for not including the exemptions when I included Epona and Navi.


	2. Refuge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you feel like you have nowhere to go, where DO you go? Where few others dare tread or are welcome.  
> If you feel like you don't have any friends, where do you turn? To the ones who are unwelcome among most if not all.  
> Gerudo Valley, an inhospitable place skirting the cursed desert and filled with thieves; a land of outcasts for most but for one person, it'll be a refuge. Or?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter will have an accompanying illustration in the end notes. Did you miss the illust for ch 1? Ch 2 art is now up!

No reply had been the only thing forthcoming for nearly half a day now until the great gates of Lake Hylia loomed up ahead. Always closed this side of the seven years, they were no match for strong legs that could jump like birds could soar. But you needed speed to soar.

Tired, blue eyes lifted themselves laboriously from the saddle horn to stare at the metal obstacle ahead.

Lake Hylia. Water temple. Direct route to the Zora realm. Zora… king Zora… prince Ruto.

Prince…

A pain sharp like a real stab wound to the heart lanced through Link, almost bending her double in the saddle as she gripped at her tunic over her heart. Or where it was supposed to be anyway. Did she even have it anymore? Perhaps it died in that temple?

Killed by a pair of piercing blue eyes.

No… killed by her own hands. Killed because she had refused to do what had to be done, what was needed. But who’d said it was needed? If she was the only one affected, then why did it not matter what she thought? Why did it not matter that she didn’t mind the seven years gone? Of course, a lot of people had suffered during those seven years, during the time that she slept and grew older in the Sacred realm, but was it truly better to undo all that had happened? Those seven years had brought a lot of people closer together. Given, it had been out of necessity and fear and the tyranny of Ganondorf, but still.

Was it better to undo it all? Let people live away those seven years in peace, oblivious to what could happen when greed ruled one single person that was strong enough to do great horrors?

What was truly for the best?

As the question brought her mind back to the fore, away from the depths of her musing, she finally saw the gate to Lake Hylia again despite having been staring at it for minutes now.

Prince Ruto… yes, if he’d been in the Zora realm, she just might, very probably, almost surely, have gone there. Maybe he could’ve taken her mind of things. Made her laugh. Given her insight. Some third party input on what might be best. Perhaps… or perhaps not. It was moot now anyway. All the sages were in the Sacred Realm, the one she had shunned and destroyed the only key to.

Far as she knew anyway.

Turning her horse, Link turned her back on the dark, iron gates and headed north instead. She could’ve gone southeast, skirt the castle town, cross the bridge and head over to Kakariko. She could have headed back to Lon-lon ranch and sought refuge, companionship and perhaps advice from ever resourceful Malon or headed even further east, up into the mountains, stayed with the gorons and helped taking care of Darunia’s son until… until she knew what to do or until he was old enough to rule well enough on his own. Not lingering on that thought – ruling – for it would bring her back to the source of her own demons. Instead she set Epona into a fast trot.

No, of all the places she could go, she would go east and northeast from here. She would head out into the mountains bordering the northwestern half of Royal Hyrule, the capital province of the kingdom. She would go to the border where fertile or at least habitable land flirted dangerously with the beginning desert region.

A land shaped by seemingly unnatural means, as though it thought it prudent to warn of what the heart of the desert held. A cursed land… A land that only the desperate inhabited. The desperate or the foolish or the wanted.

Or the _really_ hardy and resourceful.

The land that the all-male gerudo people lived.

Of course, she was sure that the Hyrule gerudo were only a clan because that couldn’t be all of them. There surely had to be more of them somewhere out there. Or? Were they that way because of the land and the supposed Goddess of the Sands they said held the desert in her sway, shaping the land to suit her nature and act as a prison for evil spirits? For the moment, how the gerudo came to be the way they were didn’t matter. The fact that they were there, in a land not many visited, and wouldn’t mind her presence if not actually welcome her as she had already proven herself to be as resourceful and skillful as most of their elite warriors, was enough. She still couldn’t beat their leader, Nabooru, though. At least not the last time they’d fought and he was himself, not weakened by mind control, but that was something else. If she was able to beat their leader, they might not have let her leave at all. Screw the Hylians, they don’t really care or bother with us anyway. Or something along those lines.

As Nabooru had so “delicately” put it to her once; “don’t impress the gerudo too well, sweetheart. Prove yourself too good and strong a female and they’ll want to keep you. Good breeding stock,” he’d winked at her and she had blushed to her very roots both in embarrassment and outrage. He had laughed, hard. At least he had been honest with her, couldn’t fault him there.

Not that she had needed to pretend to not beat Nabooru. She simply hadn’t been good enough to do that, but she had earned herself eternal free passage and stay at the fortress village. Probably also earned the attention of some who would always have a spot for her in their fantasies too, Nabooru had laughed, causing her to go red like a healing potion again.

Nabooru… another sage. Had the gerudo appointed a new leader then? Or were they still awaiting the return of their old one? Was she going to have to break the news to them and disappoint them all on her arrival? She would hate to do it but it was the least she could do and if they didn’t want her there afterwards… well, leave that for then. If no one wanted her around after they got to know she had refused, and destroyed, the only possibility to erase the seven years of hardship and pain, there was always the lands beyond Greater Hyrule. Or perhaps just Greater Hyrule itself would suffice, didn’t need to go so far that they began speaking another language, really. The temples had all been in the core of Hyrule, Royal Hyrule as the province was called that was ruled by the immediate royal family and not by any vassal lord. There probably wouldn’t be a lot of people who knew who she was if she went beyond the Lake Hylia border, beyond the reaches of the Kokiri forest and Lost Woods or even the other side of the great mountains sheltering Kakariko in their shade. Maybe she could manage to be a hermit at the Forest temple? Extreme measures, and her very last resort, was to try and cross the great desert skirting the gerudo lands. That was suicide or a mad man’s thoughts, but that was a possibility at least. There was always someplace she could go for… for how long? Forever?

She didn’t want forever. The only place she really wanted “forever” with was… with electrifying blue eyes. Her heart sank.

Would Zelda ever want to see her again? Would it take months, years, decades before he would speak with her, much less forgive? Would it be possible to forgive? The Ocarina of Time had been a royal family heirloom, a divine treasure that opened the Sacred Realm, or one of the pieces that opened it, a place now probably forever shut. It hadn’t hit her before, but she had no idea if the Ocarina did anything else too, or was needed for anything else. She might just have destroyed something extremely important.

_At least no one will ever be able to try and steal the Sacred Triforce again,_ Link thought bitterly as she glanced down at her hand marked by divine grace though the symbol lay covered by her glove. _Always something_. And she guessed it was. If nothing else, there was always the promise of something like the Ganondorf affair never happening again. Ever.

Thanks to her.

Because of her…

For good and bad.

Unless the Triforce of Power hadn’t returned to the Sacred Realm once its holder died. But it had to have done it, right? The only reason she and Zelda still held theirs was because they weren’t dead yet. Or? Did she still hold it? It wasn’t needed anymore, was it? Had all the pieces of the holy triangle returned to the Realm and left only a ghost of a reminder upon the bodies of those they once inhabited? She wasn’t sure if she didn’t dare, or simply didn’t want, to strip off her glove to check. At least not now.

The day passed in a haze she was unable to truly rouse herself from. Not even nightfall could pull her out of it. It was pitch black by the time she even realized what time it was. Usually monsters came out after dark but there was no more evil power loose in the land to waken the dead or give malicious spirits form anymore. She made camp not far from the road, in the shadow of some trees, but was only able to gather a few fitful hours of sleep. Her rest was filled with angry, accusing eyes that morphed and grew yellow and dangerous. The last attempt at sleep was destroyed by a sword descending towards her wielded by someone whose eyes were all she could remember.

Link had sat up with a jerk, chest heaving and brow soaked. She hadn’t tried to go back to sleep again despite the gray of early morning whispering about the hours left until the sun was up. She’d packed up and tried to remove the traces of her night as best she could, feeling like something was following her, drawing nearer with a sword ready just for her. She knew who the eyes represented and highly doubted that the prince would ever come after her blood. She wouldn’t have believed it unless she had had the decree delivered from Zelda’s own lips. In all honesty it seemed like a fair price to demand when she thought about it but she knew it wouldn’t happen. It wasn’t Zelda’s way. It did seem like an odd thing to claim as she truly hadn’t known the prince for that long. Truly, how long _had_ she known Zelda? Little under a year or something and most of that time she had been on the road, whether she had been 10 or 17. The feeling kept eating at her mind though as she set out again and refused to let go as the sun climbed higher.

The clomp of hooves on thick wood finally woke her up from her trance. Epona was crossing the bridge over the ravine to the gerudo lands. Had she really been that out of it? A whole day gone due to bad dreams? During all her travels, she had never before been troubled by dreams in such a way…

Across the bridge, a tanned guard came out of the little sentry hut that had been placed there, glaive in hand and robed all in purple like always. Link thought she could actually see the face light up despite the distance and the dust mask the gerudo wore. As she came closer, she saw the reason for the bright face.

_Nayroon_ , she sighed mentally but smiled at the familiar person. As soon as she came close enough to not make a conversation demand yelling levels on the decibel scale, she was verbally greeted by the warrior.

“Link! By the sands, didn’t think I would see you here again so soon!”

“Didn’t think but oh so happy I came by, isn’t that about it?” she grinned back at him, his cheery countenance brightening her own mood.

“Well, yeah,” he said, pulling down the dust mask as Epona set hoof upon solid ground once more and stopped in front of the man. “We’re always happy to have you visit us,” he grinned merrily at her as he placed the butt of the glaive in front of himself and hung on the pole. Link scooted back in the saddle to lean on the head of it and partly on Epona’s neck in a similar fashion to the gerudo, mimicking his grin.

“Oh, really? And here I thought it was for some other reason than just “happy”.”

Nayroon grinned sheepishly, casting his gaze to the ground for a short moment. “Naw. We aren’t that bad, really,” he argued with her, having caught the meaning behind her words that she implied he hadn’t said… which was true. Apparently, the short time she had spent in their presence had taught her how to read lewdness in a sentence. At least to a certain degree, practice makes perfect after all.

“Yes. Really,” Link said in a gently mocking voice. “Why, you’re all proud and respectable warrior men with honor!” she announced sitting up straight for a moment to thump her chest with a fist. “’Course you would never cast any lewd looks at a woman. Temptation is below you after all,” she grinned relentlessly down at him as she sunk back down into her forward slouching position again.

“At a woman as horrible and mean as you, no,” he joked with feigned hurt but then stood up straight so quickly, with a mischievous look playing on his features, that no one would have believed his hurt anyway. “Of course, act a bit more feminine and we might just be fooled to think you the fragile slip of a girl that you appear to be.”

Link snorted loudly at that as she sat up straight in the saddle again. They all knew about her prowess. Simply because she wasn’t wearing clothes that revealed her muscles didn’t mean she didn’t have them.

“Me? Act feminine? You’d think I’d hit my head. That or gotten sick or that it was someone else pretending to be me… or,” she smirked conspiratorially, “that I had been brain-washed and sent in to spy on you lot.” Then she sobered up and continued with mock gravity. “Either that, or Nabooru finally learned how to mind control and decided that you all needed a woman present at all times.”

Nayroon grinned amused. “The horror.”

“Yes, indeed,” Link said, eyebrows shooting up high at the first word before the serious mask cracked and she returned the grin. “But in all seriousness, would you guys… mind a guest for, at the moment, an unknown amount of time?”

The gerudo guard’s brows rose high in genuine surprise for a second before falling to study the young woman on the horse in front of him. “Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but you know you’re always welcome here. I’m sure we have all made that pretty clear, all jokes aside,” he added the last bit seriously. “Nabooru hasn’t returned yet, but we have no doubt he will, sooner or later.” Link refrained from commenting on that by biting the inside of her cheek. She didn’t want to break it to them just yet if she could help it. Who knew? Maybe Nabooru would come back? Her own musings almost made her miss Nayroon’s muttered “probably dallying around somewhere in the Sacred Realm with someone”.

“Thanks, Nayroon,” she said, truly meaning it. The man waved it away.

“Go on in. If you’re staying long, I’m sure there’s something or the other you always could help with.” She knew him well enough to say it was his way of telling her “you can probably stay as long as you want if you pull your share of the weight”. Given, there wasn’t much else to do around here if you _didn’t_ have some type of work or mundane chore to do.

Link gave the gerudo a genuine smile. The man returned it before waving her along, indirectly pointing her in the uphill direction of the mountain village, or stronghold as some might call it.

Surrounded on all sides by cliffs, the village was easily defensible with its only two true exits. There was the third gorge, which lead down into a small valley where they had some crop fields and animals grazing, but there wasn’t any real exit out of there. It was literally a cliff-walled enclosure. No need for fences there. As had been seen in the past, the bridge across the ravine with its waterfall and river far below could be destroyed, effectively blocking that path of entrance. That is, unless you had a really great(ly annoying) horse like a certain person did, as Nabooru had grumpily muttered when Link had proudly stated that their “unbeatable” defenses weren’t so unbeatable.

As for the last entrance to the village, the desert road that few took as it were due to where it lead and the fact that almost none came _from_ that direction, the gerudo had a sturdy dark iron gate in place that could be lowered at moment’s notice. All safe and sound… or very imprisoning, as Link had pointed out the first time Nabooru had given her a complete tour of the village and explained all its defenses and the reason for its location.

Greeting people she knew the names of, smiling and nodding to those she didn’t, Link entered the village at a leisurely pace, Epona taking the route he knew best… the one towards the stables.

“Heya, Sen,” the heroine of Time greeted the stable master who turned around at a voice he didn’t hear every day.

“Well, well, if it isn’t little Goldilocks,” the man said with a grin as he came to hang upon the fence of the small, penned area where a number of horses could be readied at the same time without the need of tying them up. The gerudo was in his upper middle ages, muscles still well-shaped but weather, wind and hard work having begun to show its toll upon his visage more clearly. The piece of straw dangling between his lips never left his mouth no matter how much he jabbered or grinned. It was almost as though it was glued there but Link had seen him remove it with his hands or spit it out at times so she knew that wasn’t it.

“How long will ye be staying this time then, seeing as our esteemed leader isn’t back yet? Or is it just a shorty?” The man liked to joke about Link mostly, or only, coming there for Nabooru even though there was nothing between the two. Link usually ignored it if she didn’t feel like joking along. Half the time though, Sen seemed to hope it might be more than a joke, so she refrained. He could have a really strong interest in Nabooru’s personal life sometimes, this man. Maybe they were related, she didn’t know.

“I’ll be staying a while, if you don’t mind,” Link said as she dismounted Epona and flicked the reins over the horse’s head to hand them to the stable master.

“Oh ho? So ye ‘ave decided to come and stay a while with us then, eh? Taking a break or ye just had enough of them Hylians and want something simpler?” Link snorted as she handed over the reins to the man.

“Hardly, but yes, a short break you could call it. Ganondorf is dead now after all.”

“Oh hoo!” the man’s whole face seemed to get even more sharply defined as it brightened up. “Nay heard such good news since ye came back to tell us them witches were dead and Nabooru ‘ad his headie back in order. Good news, girlie. Good news,” he said with heartfelt pleasure, forcing Link to smile in return despite herself. Sen was one of the few whose demeanor was excuse enough for her to allow him the odd nicknames he gave her.

“Nay going t’ reconsider giving up yer horse then to me breeding?” An almost greedy glint shone in the mischievous light the older man’s eyes almost always held. Link nearly snatched back the reins from him but stopped herself before the twitch became a jerk.

“In your dreams, Sen,” she said while shaking her head. “Take good care of him, please,” she added as she took off her meager packing that rarely left Epona’s back under usual circumstances. If she was staying for a while, she would need it.

The old man simply chuckled at her response. “Aye, in me dreams, like a lot o’ other things.” Link chose to ignore that. You didn’t have to have the wisdom of years to know when to ignore what some people said. “The room ye usually have is all empty. Might need a bit o’ dusting, mind you,” he added as the female warrior began to walk away.

“Thanks, Sen! I’ll see you around,” she called over her shoulder as she headed over to the special guest room she had been awarded as “always open and available for you… unless on the off-chance that some dignitary or something is visiting, then you can sleep with me,” by Nabooru. Sometime she wasn’t surprised why some people, like Sen, thought or hoped for something more than just talk and banter between her and their leader.

_Well, they can continue dreaming_ , Link thought as she entered the cool stone halls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art for this chapter: http://jinsei.deviantart.com/art/Changing-destinies-ch-2-the-bridge-guard-519169010  
> I made the distances you travel in-game greater in the fic because it felt silly to be able to traverse all of Hyrule in the blink of an eye.


	3. The Gerudo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arriving at Gerudo Valley, Link gets a personal welcome form someone she isn't sure whether he's truly okay with her being there or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the schedule for updates. A new chapter goes up when I have the relevant art ready (which doesn't take too long if I don't have much else to do). Link to ch 3 illust in the end note!

It was in the midst of putting away the contents of her meager traveling pack and trying to dust the worst of the road off her that she was surprised by a sudden but familiar voice.

“Heard you came to stay for a while.” Link whirled around to be greeted by Aveil’s face. Nabooru’s second in command, as the man had become after the departure and ultimately fall of Ganondorf, was tall with well-defined muscles, much like their leader. From his looks, however, Link could bet on that he had been gangly in his youth.

“Ah, yes,” she nodded, “unless someone minds.” She had barely had the time to finish before the other shook his head, waving a hand dismissively in the air. Sometimes she was unsure where she had this gerudo but, thankfully, most of the time he was serious if not too talkative. He could be a bit bossy at times, but Nabooru said he meant well. Link sure hoped so because Aveil wasn’t someone she would want as an enemy. Even now, half the time, she still felt unsure about leaving her back to him but Nabooru swore he was a great man, great and respectful but a bit fanatical about the superiority of their true heiress, Ganondorf. She had been told that Aveil had calmed a bit after a good talk with Nabooru after Ganondorf ignored her duty and left to try and ultimately fail to take over Hyrule. Besides, after all she had seen with Nabooru at the Spirit temple, she would trust him on this one.

“No, no trouble. However,” he gave Link a once over, eyes going up and down her entire form, “you might want to look for some other type of clothing than that. We’re entering summer and it’s not about to get any cooler, you know.”

That was true, Link noted to herself. Summer was just around the bend. The farmers in the country who had been brave, or foolhardy, enough to stay on their land had just finished the any last minute sowing. However, just like Lon-lon ranch had been allowed to continue operating, a lot of farms had too. Ganondorf hadn’t been that stupid after all, even she knew a land needed certain things to continue in some form of working order. You don’t get much to rule if there’s no one left in the kingdom after all. Then again, there had been a disturbingly high amount of dead running around so maybe the living hadn’t been that high priority in the end.

At the prolonged silence from their female guest as she thoughtfully looked over her clothing, Aveil finally seemed to let out an inaudible sigh as his shoulders dropped slightly and posture slackened. Pushing away from the doorframe he had been leaning against after his very successful stealthy approach, he spoke up.

“We have got some clothing lying around, I’m sure. What I’m not sure about though is if they’re your size or not. Worst case scenario, there’s always fabric in the village. Last caravan before summer came in a few days ago.” At that, Link looked up at him, surprised.

“You get _caravans_ here? As in from across the desert?”

Aveil snorted in, Link assumed, amusement. “Yes, we do. Most goods are kept here, mind you. Some… things that come with the caravan is only once every other year though, or every third, depending on.” The slight pause and change of tone for that one word, “things”, made Link wonder what it was but somehow she doubted Aveil would tell her. She could ask Nabooru later when he… oh, yeah, that’s right. Not _when_ , _if_. She would have to tell Aveil about that too, soon. If Nabooru wasn’t returning, _couldn’t_ return, then it fell to the second in command to take over. He would need to know soon in that case.

While Link had her internal battle about when and how to break the news to the gerudo’s second, Aveil plowed on. For a split second, there had been an expression on his face as though he was almost thankful she hadn’t pressed him for what these “things” were.

“Some stuff do go out to the castle market though, but at a highly inflated price. As you know, we don’t make many things here that generate rupees or trade flow and we need something to barter with when the caravans come. However, as you can see, we also keep a lot of the stuff; work into it to give it our own touch.”

Oh, Link hadn’t missed that. At times she had been highly surprised by the little treasures she had been able to find in Gerudo Valley. The fine silks, the precious stones in their exquisite settings and excellent weaponry of fine material. Most arms they _did_ smith themselves, it was just parts or most of the materials that came from faraway places apparently. Link nodded once at Aveil’s embroidered belt with its black and white design on green background. He wore all green, apparently the color of a higher rank or a specific task, Link guessed. Why the guards wore such a dark, and fine, hue as purple, Link would never understand, but then again, Nabooru’s all white and yellow outfit made even less sense to her in this dusty place.

And they were back where they started again. “If you do have something more suited for your climate but not too… _revealing_ ,” she said, putting special pronunciation on that particular yet important word that the gerudo seemed to have a very small understanding of, “then I’ll be happy to look at it.” Aveil’s mouth had crawled up in one corner upon her very pointed pronunciation of the word “revealing” and it hadn’t fallen yet. She guessed that was his way of silently laughing.

“I’m sure we can find _something_ to your liking, your ladyship,” he said on jest in a lightly mocking tone as he gave her a small bow. She made a face his way and he actually grinned at her, amusement sparkling in those golden amber eyes. Then he sobered a bit and waved her along, though his visage still held onto the humor lightly. “Come, let’s find something before you roast in that green coverall.” Link was sure he chose that word just to be contradictive to her comment about revealing clothing. “Or get mistaken for me.”

Link snorted half in amusement and half in incredulity. “Like that would ever happen.”

“One never knows,” Aveil seemed to speak partly to himself and partly to her.

“Oh yes, I’m just shorter than you by at least half ahead, almost a whole, have paler skin and blonde hair to your red.”

Aveil shot her a sideway glance and gave her a quick, lopsided smile.

“Stay a few months and you may have something closer to my skin color. Hair can always be hidden away, height distorted through placement or other visual illusions. Anything is possible,” he said, sounding very true to the resourceful second in command Nabooru always praised, “…from behind at least. Can’t conceal the truth of your shape from the front very well.”

That surprised Link. It was the first time she had ever had Aveil mention or, as she thought it was meant, compliment her curves. Not even upon their first meeting, where she was praised for her battle prowess, had she gotten anything of the like. She wasn’t awfully flat but she was a far cry from the two elder gerudo she had slain in the Spirit temple after they combined into a very unexpected personage or, should she say, sex. Both of them being male, the last thing she had expected were for them to turn female upon combining their powers. Nabooru had later, during their travel back across the sands, said that before Ganondorf was born, the tribe had begun to think that they wouldn’t get their once-a-century true heiress and their two most magically promising members had gone to the temple for intense magic study in seclusion. The original idea was to either find the cause of the delay, or outright missing, true heiress or find an alternative solution. Apparently, they had done both, Link had concluded and Nabooru had agreed.

Nabooru, always the rule-breaker, had ignored Rauru’s upset muttering and fuming and left with a “be back soon” to accompany Link across the Haunted Wastes back to the Valley. Some last little time spent in the company of a friend and savior but also to prepare his people for a slightly prolonged absence, as Nabooru had put it. They had accepted it awfully well, Link had thought.

Whatever had caused Aveil to speak up in what amounted to a compliment, Link couldn’t guess and her incredulous stare must have said as much as the gerudo gave an awkward cough into a fist. Was he blushing just faintly under all that tan? Link couldn’t tell and it was such an uncharacteristic thing for him to do, she couldn’t even begin to place a guess either.

“You seemed to need it,” he finally muttered and it clicked. Of course Aveil would have seen through her. Nabooru would have, _will_ when he gets back her mind insisted in defiance. If anyone would find a way out, it would be the leader of the desert thieves. And of course Aveil wouldn’t get to be second in command unless he was nearly as good as Nabooru. The sage would not accept anything less than nearly an equal… that, or the once-a-century female gerudo.

Link swallowed and ducked her head as they continued their walk through the labyrinth of stone corridors and rooms. “Thanks,” she mumbled in return. Aveil simply gave a small but prolonged nod in reply and dropped it after that. Nabooru would have prodded until she either cried or yelled at him in frustration and of the two, the gerudo always preferred the latter as they knew from one such previous occasion. Aveil, however, left it alone until she wanted to talk about it, it would seem. That, or he wasn’t sure how to ask or didn’t care. Although, given his attempt at actually trying to cheer her up when he didn’t have to or could just have pretended to not have noticed, she guessed the latter wasn’t the case. As Nabooru had said, he was a good second in command.

They finally arrived at a large chamber decked out quite splendidly. It was well-kept and spotless but didn’t seem to have had an occupant for a long time. At Link’s interested gaze flitting around the room, taking it all in, Aveil supplied the answer for the unspoken question.

“This is the room reserved for the true heiress. Since it’s the only room where a woman of our tribe would stay, we keep any and all female clothing in here.” It was left unsaid, though perfectly understood, that the last occupant had been Ganondorf. Link swallowed lightly and stopped ogling the room as much. It was beautiful though, not too feminine but with a decidedly softer touch and taste. It didn’t seem very personalized though and Link’s mouth was able to get that out before she could stop it. Aveil gave her a small, slightly sad smile over his shoulder.

“We cleaned it out and set it back to the original order not too long ago. Now it just awaits the next century.” Link could understand the slightly glum tone of voice in Aveil. Ganondorf had arrived late, just barely arrived at maturity to take over and the first thing she had off and done was to go ripping through the country, far away from the people she owed her duty and time to. They had expected something else and then Link had gone and killed their great leader. That must have stung. And still they obeyed Aveil’s command, later endorsed by Nabooru, to let her pass unharmed, even be an honorary member that could come and stay whenever.

“What now?” Aveil, who had been about to go for an ornate chest at the foot of the bed, had stopped and was looking at her with a raised brow. Link realized she had been wearing a markedly glum face of her own. Crap.

“Ah, well, it’s just—i-it’s nothing, really. I was just… thinking…” Her stuttering came to a dwindling halt as Aveil continued to stare. And stare. And _stare_. Apparently he wasn’t going to let Link slip this time. With a deep sigh and dropped shoulders, the Heroine of Time gave in to the silent wall of unrelenting force in front of her. The one thing her travels and fighting never had equipped her with: how to talk to people or express herself. The best she could do was honesty, eighty percent of the time it seemed the only thing that worked for her. At least when it came to something she couldn’t stab, shoot, explode, etc.

“I was just thinking… of how it must be hard for all of you to have me here since I was the one who…” she fell silent as she waved her hands about in the air, trying to grasp a good word that didn’t put her foot in her mouth.

“Killed our once-a-century only female.” To hear it stung more than it should have but Aveil’s face was blank even as Link cringed at the bluntness of his words.

“…Yes.”

Aveil heaved a sigh. “Don’t. Apparently, it wasn’t meant to be and there was no saying her madness and power-hunger possibly wouldn’t have done us more harm than good in the long run, had we supported her all the way. We did support her, but we kept to the sides, out of the way. Nabooru was right. He may have been young but he proved early on to be a good leader. We will miss our true heiress for many years still, no doubt, but for all her ambitions, she might have gone so far away that we didn’t care to or could follow. Holing herself up in some insipid Hylian castle with nothing but walking dead around,” Aveil snorted in disgust, “ _Hylian_ dead at that, not even proper people of her own blood.”

Link was again reminded that, no, the gerudo did not think too much about the Hylians. She was a very blatant “exception that confirms the rule” as Nabooru once had put it. Maybe she should be happy about that… especially now, what with her situation and almost exile from main Hyrule by its ruler.

“But as said, don’t think about it. You did your duty, you proved to be a strong and reliable woman. Hyrule was blessed to have you. A blessing they didn’t really deserve.” Link felt it was best to stop Aveil before he went further with that and let her embarrassed blush take over the conversation for her. Or if he somehow stumbled upon the _real_ reason she was here because if he did, she was sure, he would be able to drag it out of her… or simply guess by staring at her gloomy face.

“Thank you, Aveil, and I’ll stop thinking about it. So what clothes did you have?” she quickly changed the subject. It was the reason they were here after all so it was a permissible topic to switch to.

“Ah, that’s right,” Aveil said and turned around again, closing the gap between him and two big chests in a few long strides. Flipping open the lid to one, he gazed down into it before beginning to rummage around. “Guessing you’re not going to be very interested in anything our Gan wore.” Link started in surprise at the easy nickname – it was the first time she had ever heard it. “And since you probably want out of those hot and dusty, among other things, clothes soon, I think this will do,” he said as he rose again from having been standing on his knees while rummaging through the chest.

Well, he was right about hot and dusty clothing but that “among other things” was rather spot on too. Her green tunic and hose was all torn and bloody in several places from her final battle with the gerudo queen first in humanoid shape and then as a monstrosity. The garment Aveil held out as he turned around was a pair of the gerudos’ usual, ballooned trousers, cut short to just below the knee, and a fitted, sleeveless vest with lacing up the front. The ensemble was all in the fortress guards’ purple.

“It’s a sparring outfit, two generations old,” Aveil supplied. Link did the math and almost choked.

“T-two!? That thing is TWO HUNDRED years old?”

Aveil looked a bit sheepish. “It’s one of the few things that’ll fit your slight frame. The clothes of Ganondorf’s youth might also fit you but, again, perhaps not something you would like to wear.”

“I-it’s not that. How can that thing _still_ be in one piece?” Link stared wide-eyed at the outfit that didn’t look too worse for wear and certainly not two centuries old.

“Ah. Good quality fabric. We use only the best material and craftsmanship for the females of our people. That and Zandooria wasn’t much for the exertions.”

_Naturally,_ Link thought, _but that is still some mighty good quality to last two hundred years._ “And, ah, it won’t just fall apart if I so much as sneeze?”

Aveil actually laughed at that, short as it was. “No.” He seemed awfully sure about that. Link wasn’t as sure. “I can guarantee you. It’s also one of the few pieces readily available until we can sit down and have some new ones made up. So if you believe they’ll fall apart if you sneeze, just hold your sneezing until we’re done.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” Link quickly protested, waving her hands in front of her wildly,

“Well, you could always go around naked. That works too and would probably be highly appreciated by a lot of people.” When Link was able to get over the initial shock of hearing Aveil of all people crack such a jest at her, she gave him a dirty look. He just smiled back at her and held out the garments, which she snatched up.

“Alright, fine. I give. I would be very grateful for some climate appropriate clothing if you would be so kind as to have some made for me. They don’t have to be anything fancy though!” she added before the second in command could get any funny thoughts.

“And not too revealing.” At Link’s second dirty look, Aveil just gave her a lazy, pleasant smile that seemed to hide a multitude of sins behind it, all faintly visible in the dancing lights in his eyes. It made her miss Nabooru. Him she at least knew where she had and if he was flirting with her or not… which was more often the case than not.

Aveil also added a pair of sturdy sandals to the list of things Link needed upon realizing that she only had leather boots. Because, no, they wouldn’t do at all. They would just harm her feet in this heat if she clomped around in them all day. Moving back through the corridors, the gerudo spoke up about something Link couldn’t disagree on. “You would want to wash up too, I assume, to do a damage check of yourself and your clothes.”

He was right on that one, Link thought. She never really got much of a chance to stop and take dip anywhere, much less actually wash her whole self. Goddesses, it would be nice to have a bath… Give her a clear forest stream any day! Lazy days playing in Kokiri Forest, splashing in the streams that wound their way through the village with Saria or showering Mido in an unexpected sneak attack flashed before her retina in a lightning quick moment of nostalgia. In a way, it wasn’t that long ago that that had been her life. Seven years may have passed, but it wasn’t even a year since she was a little girl, thinking she was a kokiri and the biggest worry she had was if she ever was going to get a fairy.

Shaking off the memory and lingering longing for those days of simplicity, she finally understood that odd saying she’d heard once or twice since leaving the place of her childhood, “the grass always seems greener on the other side”. She nodded at Aveil. “I would. I’ll be taking myself down to the shore of the ravine river.”

Aveil nodded at her before parting with her at the entrance to her room. “Take your time. I’m sure there’s something you can help with by tomorrow. For today… just take some time to yourself. You seem to need it.” Damn him and his perceptive mind, Link cursed as she gathered up a blanket from her room to use as towel before heading out and back towards the entrance of the Gerudo Valley. She would have to threaten Nayroon at sword point now, wouldn’t she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art for ch 3: http://jinsei.deviantart.com/art/Changing-destinies-ch-3-the-room-520453533  
> I Always try to give all the characters slightly different lines and colors so even if they look fairly alike at first glance, they're not. Nayroon has paler skin, more orange hair, etc. Because they're different people so they shouldn't look like twins or siblings!
> 
> Also, I think I mucked something up. The end notes for ch 1 is in ch 2 (along with the ch 2 end notes) and I can't see it if I go in to edit either of those chapters. Oh well...


	4. Moments of truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some responsibilities are never fun and we can't run from them forever... but we can try. At least until we come face to face with them, then we can man up or run for the hills. But Link had never taken the easy way, had she? Maybe it was time to start now though...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the horrendously short chapter after a longer wait than the last three. I didn't realize it was this short. I'd fleshed out the story and thought to finish it so I could say how many chapters it contained but the detailed version turned out to be longer than the summed up one. I'm current approximating two extra chapters.  
> Link to art in the end note.

“And _if_ you stand there and stare I _will_ hack off that which makes you a man… with a rusty spoon. I’ll go get one, just for you. Understood?” Link pointed her finger in Nayroon’s face, almost touching his sharply defined nose with her index finger. The guard held up his hands in pacifying surrender, nodding at her as she spoke.

“Of course, of course, I do, I do.” Link let out a heavy sigh as she dropped her hand from his face, wondering why it sometimes took so much promise of violence to get these men to listen to her. Actually, either it made them listen, or it just seemed to make them even _more_ eager. She would _never_ get the hang of this people. Or maybe she would now. In a month, or two… or twelve. Another sigh.

As Link turned to head down the sloping path to the river shore, Nayroon spoke up behind her, once again. “But what about a quick peek then? Or a sweetly longing, non-pervyyyeeaagh—” the gerudo was cut short as a very sharp sword point came in feather-light contact with his throat. “Okay, okay, I get it, I get it,” he said with hands held high above his head, somehow having managed to position his glaive so that it was leaning against his shoulder before his hands flew skywards. Link guessed he was probably just that good (why else would they trust him to stand guard by their main Hyrule entrance _alone_?) and he was humoring her. She’d yet to see him on the sparring court but she was pretty sure he could throw most of them to the ground, bare-handed or not. You would not be trusted with such a duty if you weren’t capable.

“Peace?” Nayroon was grinning sheepishly, non-threatening, at her now, hands held in front of him, finger splayed wide. Had she seen him move them? Had she seen him move his polearm to the crook of his elbow? She hadn’t. He was just that good.

For a moment, a chilly knowledge of that if Nayroon wanted anything of her or with her, he could just take it, entered her mind, then Link pushed it away to be dealt with later. It was a battle technique, a survival instinct she’d _had_ to learn during her travels. It just wouldn’t have worked otherwise and it’d come from the most unlikely of places; Saria. Go figure.

“Alright,” she sheathed the Master Sword again, “peace. For now,” she quickly added the last bit before Nayroon allowed his happy grin to settle _too_ permanently. The gerudo nodded in reply, wisely leaving it at that as Link cautiously turned around again and set out for the landing at the bottom of the slope, grumbling all the way down there about impossible males. Whatever their race. Nayroon just grinned after her disappearing back while leaning on his glaive.

*******

A week passed. Two weeks passed. A _month_ passed! It was nearing the two month line and Link was practically dragging her feet behind her as she walked with Epona’s reins up the last hill to the gerudo stronghold after returning from her hunt. Eight fat rabbits hung over the horse’s flanks, not a bad catch at all for such a short time out in the fields, but… she knew. She _knew_ she had to tell Aveil the truth. _Knew_ she had to confess having known Nabooru wouldn’t come back at all, that the second in command would have to take up the mantle and lead the gerudo properly. She _knew_ , yet she resisted the push from her conscience, _hated_ the ringing _need_ she felt to be honest with the man and _wished_ fervently that she could just wait a little longer. She knew that wouldn’t work though. She’d already tried that kind of reasoning. That “a little” would only turn into “a bit longer”, which would grow into “just a bit more”, which would mutate _again_ into a “soon” and then metamorphose into a monstrous “ _NEVER_ ”!

…Of course, that’d never happen.

Aveil had given her space, he’d given her time and then some more time but she could tell, could see, could almost _hear_ , that even his great patience, respectful nature and caring personality was grinding to a slow demise. He _knew_ she knew something. And he knew that she knew that he… oh, whatever.

He’d cornered her once, near begged her to tell him if Nabooru was in trouble. He hadn’t said anything but his eyes, always so calm and controlled, had. They’d said a bunch, a million, a you-have-to-tell-me! And hers had given the exact, perfectly WRONG response: the stop-too-much-I’m-a-coward-and-will-run-away-now. And she had. She’d dashed out of the corner, out of his pointed but non-threatening enclosure of arms on either side of her and her back against a wall. He’d not been trying to keep her there, not reached out to stop her, just let her run. And maybe that’d been worse. She didn’t need her name called out, she could _feel_ his eyes following her, burning a hole in her back without any malice just… just something. It’d felt painfully familiar, yet at the same time she couldn’t place it. Had she ever had anyone look at her like that before? She just couldn’t remember. Maybe it had happened and she’d just never seen it? Maybe…

She could see the crown of the gentle slope now, see the looming, dark rocks of the gerudo buildings, the colorful rugs and fabrics hanging about, decorating and cheering up the monotone landscape. It was the height of summer, so hot, so harsh, so little rain and shade. No clouds or respite from the blazing glory of Din’s heart up above forced the inhabitants whose fortress flirted with the desert to put up their own breathing spaces in the shape of multihued blankets and mats held aloft, high or low, by poles. It was a lovely but way too hot day. As Aveil had once joked about their appearances being similar if she always wore green, her skin had taken on a slightly more tanned tone. No surprise there but still a far cry from Aveil’s lovely hue.

Entering Gerudo Valley proper with its guards here and there, Link was able to spot Aveil almost immediately. Security never became lax here, not even after the defeat of the threat to the land, as Aveil said they still didn’t know if and how the Hylians would strike back since Ganondorf had been a gerudo. Said person was never difficult to spot. He was the only one wearing green nowadays after all. Link had come to wear less green, more out of respect for Aveil rather than the heat but also because it was such a woody color and she was as far from her old self that she could get, so it was not a difficult task, picking out the –gulp– soon to be leader of the gerudo. She _had_ to tell Aveil today. She _was_ going to tell Aveil today. No backing out now. No chickening out on the last chance like once before (which had created a rather awkward situation, thank you very much). She _was_ going to tell Aveil. NO buts!

“Aveil!” Link called out as she came closer to the man, announcing her presence and wish for attention with nothing but her tone of voice. She was determined to go through with it. No, not “determined”, she _was_ determination this time. She _had to_. She would. For Nabooru’s sake, for Aveil, for all the gerudo. They deserved it. They took her in and they deserved to know what had happened to their leader. And deserved an end to the wait and a new leader to direct them to where they needed to be. Some things, however competent the second in command was, always waited for the true leader to return before they were settled, that was the way of the gerudo.

“I want to talk to you,” Link announced as the gerudo turned to face her. “I need to tell you a—abh—abouuuuh…t…” Link could only stare. And stare and stare and then stare some more as her words died in her throat. “Nabooru.” The squeak was almost a whisper, her muscles were trembling as she stared at the two figures standing in front of her, a few meters away. One she was oh so familiar with from weeks of getting to know better and then dodging (and getting quite good at it too!) and the other… the other she knew on a whole other level. A personal one. Personal as in the way of helping, of saving, of awakening into sagehood… and of sealing away. Or so she’d thought.

“Nabooru!” She would later deny that she had screeched the man’s name like some possessed skullkid, but there you have it. The truth of the moment. Link had dropped Epona’s reins before she even knew she was racing the last bit of the way and had thrown herself at the robed man in his dusty and dirty off-white traveling cloak and gear. Launching herself at the Sage of Spirit, she completely missed the roughish grin on the tall gerudo’s lips, which consequently spared him a beating.

“Hello, sweetheart, lovely to see you too.” The aforementioned grin was audible in his voice and earned the man, despite the warm welcome, a bop to the head by a fist, though not a too hard hit. When she finally loosened her grip on him, Nabooru gave her an extra squeeze before slowly letting her slide down his body to the ground again. Aveil, having politely waited on the sidelines until the prolonged greeting was over, now spoke.

“What did you wish to speak with me about?” he inquired as he regarded Link with mild curiosity. The Hylian blinked at the second in command and then realized she still had Nabooru’s arm around her upper back, his hand resting on the edge of her shoulder. Wishing to step away from it but at the same time not wanting to draw closer to the one person she’d been trying to avoid for so long, she was left nervously fidgeting beside Nabooru in the near-embrace. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but hopefully one of the two would be more giving and not press her.

“I—ah, n-no, it was n-nothing. Nothing of import. That is, it’s not important any longer,” she babbled, stumbling over her words as she tried to keep her hands still. These were the times she missed having her sword always strapped to her but more often than not lately, she’d left the Master Sword in her room. Sadly, it often reminded her of why she was there and the lack of need for it made it dead weight anyway. Especially if she went hunting. She really regretted leaving it behind now.

Beside her, Nabooru was glancing down at her. Suddenly, a grin spread like wildfire over his face, quickly lighting up his eyes with wicked mischievousness. “Were you getting so lonely here without me that you were about to give in and go to my second for company? Had I known that, I would have tried to come back faster!” Having frozen at the first part of the joke, Link quickly thawed to whirl and throw a punch at Nabooru’s face. The gerudo quickly dodged to the side without moving very far, grin still in place. “What have I told you about passionate fighting?” he teased mercilessly. “The only place passion belongs is between the sheets. Or wherever else you want it,” he added but quickly had to jump away as Link, face redder than the gerudo elite warrior uniform, took another swing that just barely missed. Nabooru raised a placating hand but kept his distance. “I would have shared you if it’s with Aveil. At least for one night.”

Link glared at him but feared some of the effect was lost in that huge dollop of embarrassment staining her face like a head wound. “I’ve changed my mind. You can stay away,” she muttered as she turned her face away, trying to calm the blush. He may have saved her from having to, most likely futilely, avoid Aveil’s questions and the man could be stubborn about getting his way. Tenacity was one of Aveil’s strong and admirable traits but very unwelcome if directed at you, Link knew this from the previous weeks.

“Not even in your wildest nightmares,” Nabooru retorted with an unrelenting grin as he straightened up, dropping the light defensive stance he had been holding to turn to his second. “Aveil, you have reports for me, right?” At the other’s nod, Nabooru gave a nod of his own. “There are quite a few things to go through then. I’ll dust the worst of the road off as we talk so walk with me. I’ll see you later, sweetheart,” he said, throwing the last bit at Link, along with a genuine smile, before turning towards the fortress. Aveil followed the gerudo leader as he departed, leaving Link to stare after them while trying to keep the glare in place and failing. Nabooru was back! Finally! Epona came up beside her and bumped her arm with his head, most likely wishing to be freed of the saddle and the spoils from their hunt. Link hugged the horse’s head to her without taking her eyes of the retreating men. She had no idea how but she was tremendously glad Nabooru was back and not only because it meant the Gerudo had their leader back. Nor was it because it got her out of telling Aveil and the others. Nabooru was a very good friend after all… despite his teasing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art for this chapter (Nabooru, yay!): http://jinsei.deviantart.com/art/Changing-destinies-ch-4-the-return-521853767


	5. Fishes do not respect questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which fishing serves as excellent multitasking by way of catching dinner, acquiring a tan and avoiding people. And in which said fishes object to their troublesome duty most strenuously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra chapter (but without art) because the previous one was so short!

It didn’t take long for the days fall back into a rhythm Link had come to be familiar with over the near two months she had been with the Gerudo. There was just a lot less stress and playing hide and seek with Aveil, something she appreciated immensely. It did make her wonder though; why had she avoided telling the second the truth? Did she not have the Triforce of Courage? Wasn’t it meant to give her strength of will against seemingly impossible or frightening odds? What other use did it have? It wasn’t like it made her stronger or wiser, like the other two pieces did. So why…? Had it, too, been locked away in the Sacred Realm somehow? But then, if Nabooru was back, shouldn’t it be free to exercise its influence over her again? Was it? Or maybe she wasn’t considered worthy of a piece of the goddesses’ holy power anymore. It wouldn’t surprise her. She _did_ have strength, wisdom and a normal amount of courage now though, due to all she had gone through. All that the Triforce of courage had made her dare go through to get here. Or maybe it had just stirred to life what was already within her? Link wasn’t sure and it almost made her head hurt, trying to figure out the philosophical implications and consequences the Triforce had had on her and maybe still had whether it was with her or not. Maybe it was a simple solution though? Maybe, now that Ganondorf and the threat to Hyrule was gone, it wasn’t needed anymore and thus she didn’t have it?

She was made to wonder, however, if it truly still was with her a few days later as Nabooru threw a question at her that she didn’t really feel ready, or willing, to answer. Was it that the Triforce of Courage was more basic in its power and didn’t know how, or couldn’t, tell her what to do when it came to the more complicated questions? Or, as Link had come to think of it more and more; the more grown-up problems and duties.

“So… what made you run all the way here and refuse to leave?”

The question repeated itself in her head as she stood, frozen, brushing off Epona after an archery session. She had tried to do it bareback as a challenge, something suggested by Utooh, the archery master and also Sen’s son. The short haired man was now nowhere in sight. He had probably made himself scarce when he spotted Nabooru walking up towards Link’s turned back. Or as soon as the question left his leader’s lips and froze Link into place more effectively than one of those cursed ice keese ever could. Whatever the reason, she did not appreciate him abandoning ship and leaving her alone to the tender mercies of the Gerudo leader! And if Nabooru was on a war path, the tender mercies were of the sarcastic sort – meaning not at all.

The urge to jab back with the question of “do you want me to leave?” was enormous but she refrained. Nabooru wouldn’t banter or tease if he was utterly serious in his curiosity. Mostly serious, then yes, but not when he was dead serious. Link stared at Epona’s half brushed coat, the warm, reddish bay hue shining in the parts she had already gotten to. Licking her lips, Link threw back the first thing that came to mind.

“No big reason. It was all done,” she lied as smoothly as she could but felt it lacked a completely believable air and calm to it. She soldiered on before Nabooru could call her on it. “How did you leave the Sacred Realm? I thought it was closed.” That was something she did want to know though.

The space behind her was so quiet for a moment that she would have wondered if he was still there if she hadn’t felt his stare at the back of her head. “It wasn’t so closed that someone like I couldn’t slip through,” he replied at last, the vague answer making Link turn around and regard him. Nabooru was watching her with a calm, almost thoughtful look then a small smile curled up one corner of his mouth. “I have never lost at this game,” he told her without preamble and after a blink, she caught on. He was willing to spar the truth, the whole truth, out of her and he seemed serious. Link wasn’t sure what was better; to spar with Nabooru on the off chance that she won or have him cut her no slack and drag the truth out of her right then and there. Both had their pros and cons. She couldn’t help swallowing and prayed he missed the tiny gesture that belied her nerves.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she lied at last, causing the gerudo to grin at her as the light glittering in his dusky amber eyes told her he was laughing at her futile attempt of denial. Link turned back to her horse with the determined promise that she would not lose.

*******

It was three days later that Nabooru slipped away during the hot midday sun to find Link down in the ravine. Sheltered by a rocky overhang at the farthest corner of the small path that led down to the river, she sat with her bare feet in the water. The leg wraps that usually covered her shins on the outdated sparring uniform, or modified guard uniform, had been removed as well to avoid them getting wet, leaving her bare to the knee. She was fishing, of all things to do at this bloody hot hour. Not even their youngest members ventured out at this time of day during the summer. The leader shook his head as he arrived by her side and dropped down beside her.

“I came here a few hours every day during the past two months,” she supplied without fanfare. At Nabooru’s silence, she continued. “I came at this hour because it was too hot to be out in the sun directly, especially for my fair skin back then, but I needed to build a tan to protect it.”

“So you sat here, using the reflection of the sun on the water to cut the worst of the heat but still accomplish a tan,” he summarized and Link nodded. That she had taken up fishing during those hours was just pure efficiency, something he wasn’t about to complain about. She could have taken a nap or just relaxed but not Link. She was always used to being on the go, always having something to do. Nabooru was a bit amazed that she hadn’t grown bored yet. Whether or not it was her wont, she had the right to take a break after all that had happened and not many would have begrudged her that after what she had done for Hyrule. Not even most of the Gerudo. Nabooru said most because he couldn’t know the true feelings of all the members of his people. Some were still a bit disheartened by the loss of Ganondorf but most, if not all, had seen the situation as Aveil had in the end. It was sad though because Ganondorf was one of the very few things Aveil had actually been spirited about. The man needed something that made him less sober at all times. Or maybe that was just his way of seeing things. Aveil, because of all his seriousness, did make a good second to Nabooru’s own more spirited nature.

“I have something for you.” The gerudo’s words made Link turn her head to regard him before her gaze floated down to his hand. It held a red belt with gold details. Trapping the fishing rod between her knees to have both hands free, she took the garment. Careful not to drop it in the water, which would quickly take it downstream where the river split between the Lake Hylia inlet and another branch that continued northwestward, she regarded it. Then it clicked and she whipped her head up to Nabooru who was watching her now instead of the water.

“This is the color of the elite warriors,” stated confusedly and Nabooru simply nodded once.

“The rest of the outfit and a spare are in your room. You have snuck around our fortress, you have beaten more than three of our elite warriors in a row and you have cleared our training grounds.” He ended the statement with a snort of a laughter. “It’s usually not done in that order but our members perform something of the like when they want to be acknowledged as part of the elite guard, yes. And seeing as you needed new clothes, it’s only fitting we give you some in the appropriate color.”

Link frowned. “Nayroon wears a similar belt when he’s on guard duty,” she noted as she remembered her arrival at the valley. Nabooru let out an agreeing “humph” as he turned to regard the rushing waters of the river again.

“He’s part of the elite guard so yes, he has the right to wear it. It’s sort of like an identifier,” he explained. “The forehead crystal our elite warriors wear are the same, as is the guards’ silver belt buckle. It’s to make it easier in case anyone falls and we’re unable to take the body back with us. Take the identifier with you and the rest will know who fell while doing what duty.”

“So in your case…” Link trailed off as her gaze flowed up his body from the ornate belt buckle in gold with a fire opal, to the faceted ruby at his chest and finally the second polished fire opal attached to his forehead. Aveil had said it was done with a sort of sticky composite, something he had called gum. It was another thing that came in with the caravans.

“Any of the three will do, I guess,” he replied with a shrug. “One signifies I’m the leader of the Gerudo, the other that I’m the caretaker of the Goddess and the last one would indicate that I’m one of the elite warriors.” Spotting Link’s frown out of the corner of his eye, Nabooru smiled. “I’m the Sage of Spirit according to Hylian tradition, I’m also the caretaker of the Spirit temple, ditto the aforementioned, but we call it the Goddess shrine, Desert Haven or Temple of the Sand Goddess.”

“Who do you think she really is?” Link asked after a moment of silent deliberation. Nabooru gave her a surprised look, brows climbing high for a heartbeat, and then his smile grew and he gave her hair a quick tousle before she managed to chase his hand away.

“We don’t speculate on that, Link,” he replied good-naturedly, dropping his arms on his knees where he sat in a lotus position so that he could slouch forward. “She is who she is and she’s the Goddess of the Sands to us. Leave the Hylian concepts to the Hylians.”

For a second it didn’t hit home but then it did. Link blinked wide eyes at Nabooru but he didn’t react. She knew he had seen her though. Leave it to the Hylians? That meant he considered her one of the Gerudo? They _had_ given her the pass but she didn’t think she was considered that much of a member. To be fair, she had been here for over two months now. She was getting into a routine and no one expected her to leave anytime soon… but still. It made something in her heart warm at the thought that she may belong somewhere. There was someone, or several someones, who considered her welcome among them if not actually being part of them. It was like the days with the Kokiri, just… more. Something, a little bit, more. She didn’t need a fairy to be completely accepted here. She had proven her worth, her prowess, her courage. She didn’t need to prove or do anything more to belong. It was… liberating.

It was an odd but amazing realization. As though she had taken off the magical iron boots. She wondered, when the whole truth was out, if she would feel like she had slipped on the hover boots. It was an extremely tempting prize that made her want to spill everything to Nabooru then and there.

And then something pulled harshly on her line, jerking at the fishing rod and in turn her just as she opened her mouth to speak. Her voice left in a squeal, the belt, thankfully held in her left hand and thus furthest from the water, dropped on the bank and Nabooru jolted towards her as she went flying. He managed to get his legs out of the lotus position, one arm around her waist and to catch himself with the other hand on the very edge of the hard bank as Link held onto the rod with one hand and just barely touched the bank with the other.

“Sands!” Nabooru wheezed out as the surprise wore off, dropping his head. She would have to agree, Link thought, as she stared down at the unsettled surface mere inches away from her nose. “This is why the youths never bathe here without adult supervision and the net set up,” he sighed as he pulled them back to solid ground again. Link nodded in understanding although she wasn’t sure if she would have thought it a smart idea to bathe in these waters to begin with if you were a child.

“What are those specks of color down there?” she asked once they were safe from taking a dip themselves and she had reeled in the line only to see that the little monster that had caused the embarrassing event had gotten away. Typical. Nabooru raised a brow at her then cast a quick glance at the river.

“Oh, those. Mollusks. The fish likes to eat their eggs and young, which is why we get so much fish trying to get this far upstream. It’s a dead end due to the waterfall after all. The snails seem to like the currents the waterfall creates,” he explained with a shrug. “We use both the fish and the snails. Or their shells that is.”

“For what?” Link asked as she wound the fishing line around the pole to make it easier to transport later.

“For dyeing, of course.”

A second passed before Link whipped around. “Wait. The shells of those snails, what dye to they create?” she asked as she regarded Nabooru suspiciously. He just smiled pleasantly at her. The abundance of shells down there would imply… “It’s the purple, isn’t it?” she asked with offended incredulity. Nabooru’s smile transformed into a grin. It looked innocent for about two seconds but if you looked at him any longer… “Anything dyed purple costs a fortune,” she accused, remembering hearing the discussions over materials at Castle Town market when young. “And the dye was said to come from far away, yet there’s a ton of snails here!” She had thought they came with the caravans at first but now…

Nabooru had returned to his lotus position and had propped an elbow on a knee, leaning his cheek on that hand as he regarded her. His grin was still in place but looked far from innocent now. “It’s so rewarding watching the young grow up and grasp the ways of the world,” he teased and Link considered clobbering him over the head with one of the fat fishes she had managed to catch so far. She refrained… just barely.

“That’s why all the guards wear that color, isn’t it? You have got an abundance of it so why sell it at such a hefty price?”

“It’s a nice profit.”

“It’s high noon robbery!”

“Sweetheart, you do remember what we are, right?”

No, she hadn’t forgotten. She wondered if they did it _because_ the people of Hyrule saw them as nothing more than thieves or if it was because of their actions. But surely, if they knew more about the Gerudo, the Hylians wouldn’t think so badly of them, would they? Link voiced her thoughts and Nabooru just shook his head.

“People are the way they are. Change doesn’t come overnight. And anyway, if they had gotten to know such an expensive luxury sat right at their doorstep, do you not think they would have pressed to take the ravine for themselves, pushing us further out into the desert? You can only go so far out there before permanent habitation becomes, well, impossible, to put it bluntly. It’s why we call it cursed,” Nabooru explained but slightly disgusted and hard features had settled in on his face when he spoke of the Hylians. Link wasn’t sure if that would be what happened but somewhere in there was something compelling, as though his words held a grain of truth. The way Nabooru described the situation, the possible consequences and the feeling inflecting his voice and staining his face, it sure seemed like that would be the case. Nabooru did know his people best and how they were treated so maybe it wasn’t a complete exaggeration.

“Besides,” Nabooru added with an indifferent shrug, “if we didn’t have these mollusks, our elite warriors wouldn’t have anything to do on their free time.”

“What do you mean?” Link asked confused.

“The elite warriors collect them,” Nabooru explained, spreading his hands in front of him. “They compete in how long they can stay under, battling the currents, while collecting as many shells as possible. They’re rather spiny, the little bastards,” he added with a knowing grin, telling Link without words that he had once participated. Of course, if he had started his days as an elite warrior, this might be what he had done at times.

“When we first met, you were young but wore white,” she said as she tried to remember if he had also worn the fancy belt buckle back then, the one that indicated his leadership over the Gerudo. “You had the forehead jewel by then.” That she was sure of.

Nabooru nodded. “I was nineteen when we met,” he confirmed. “I was young as far as elite warriors go and I had always been set to be caretaker of the Goddess. I guess I wanted to prove I was worthy of more than just sit in some dusty, old temple,” he confessed with a slightly sheepish grin. “I had been an elite warrior since sixteen and Ganondorf had set me as second in command when I was eighteen. So in a way I guess I did prove to everyone, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I could be more and I didn’t need to traipse off into Hyrule to do it,” he told her proudly but also with the tiniest hint of annoyance shading his words. Much like Aveil, she guessed, so was he annoyed at how Ganondorf had handled things.

“Back then you were already against Ganondorf.” It wasn’t a question but she wanted him to fill in the reason why. It was something they had never gotten to discuss properly.

“She was doing a bad job of it,” he said with a shrug, looking very much like that was all there was to it. At Link’s confused look he cast her a quick smile before expounding. “I was young and I had proven myself in several ways. She wasn’t that much older and while, yes, she set me as second in command, which proved to the rest that I was worthy and dependable, I could have gotten there on my own in a few years. She threw her responsibilities mostly at me, just like the sorcerer elders had when Ganondorf finally did come along. She should have acted differently. I was annoyed at how she manhandled her duties when so many looked up to her. Yes, at least she gave them to someone who could do the job adequately but I still felt she could have done more. If she wasn’t willing to pull her share of the weight, why should we honor her in such a way?” he asked and Link didn’t have an answer even if it hadn’t been rhetorical. Nabooru sighed and rubbed the back of his head, realizing he had been rambling.

“I see your point,” Link offered with a smile that the gerudo returned.

“Any other questions?”

Link thought for a second. “Oh, yeah! Why do none of your guards, not even your elite warriors, wear any protection for their middle?” That had always bothered her. Sure, it would be hot but didn’t they rather stay alive? “I know they have taken to wearing vambraces and greaves fairly recently but why nothing around the middle?”

Nabooru blinked at her as though it should be obvious. “If they can’t avoid getting gutted, they obviously weren’t fit to wear whatever color they had been granted.”

Link stared at him for a full three seconds. “T-that’s harsh!” she blurted out.

“Truth,” Nabooru stated utterly deadpan.

“But—”

“Put it like this then,” he interrupted her as he stood up, dusting off his trousers. “You fought through half of the Temple of the Goddess and a temple guardian as a mere child of ten,” he said but at Link’s confused look he expounded. “Those large suits of armor? I was put in one of those too as you recall.” That made recognition chase over her face. “You fought one of those without any armor and as a child.”

“And I had cuts and bruises for weeks to show for it,” she grumbled in return but Nabooru waved it off. She had still done it and survived and that was what mattered in his book. In any gerudo’s book apparently. “But what were those? They were empty inside.”

Nabooru gave a sad, wry smile. “The Hylians don’t call it the Spirit Temple for nothing. The armors that make up the temple guardians are filled with spirits of long dead gerudo warriors. But spirits don’t have a body, making them susceptible to magical attack and manipulation. It’s why the sorcerer elders could twist them to do their bidding. I, however, as the Sage of Spirit,” he said the title in lightly mocking tones, “am resistant to magical manipulations, which is why their mind control failed when you defeated me in that piece of armor. Also, you have seen our elite warriors fight. Cumbersome armor isn’t our thing,” he finished with a shake of his head, which brought them back to square one and the second question he had yet to answer.

“So why the slight update to the guards’ uniform?”

Nabooru’s expression grew darker. “The Hylians…”

Link felt something sharp stab at her heart. Had someone figured out she was hiding here? Was it causing the Gerudo trouble?

“We’re not sure but the worry is that since Ganondorf was one of ours, the Hylians might come to blame us.” The words pierced the fog trying to settle on Link’s mind. It wasn’t about her. “It doesn’t help that all this started with Ganondorf getting into Hyrule Castle under the pretense of renewing the allegiance oath to the late king of Hyrule. So we would rather do some light preparatory work now but not give the impression that we’re actually getting ready for an assault or counter attack because they,” he paused long enough to throw her a lopsided smile and laughing eyes, “because one of their warriors killed our once-a-century only female.”

“And I am…?” Link asked carefully. Nabooru snorted, seriousness taking over his features.

“You’re a member of the Gerudo tribe,” he stated bluntly. And that was apparently that.

“And… despite this worry that the people of Hyrule might take an actively offensive view of you, you don’t give your guards protection where they would actually need it?” she concluded with an arched brow, light amusement and confusion dancing in her eyes and pulling one corner of her mouth upwards.

“Sweetheart, we have got a reputation to protect,” Nabooru said with finality as he spread his hands in front of him again while Link simply shook her head. As if that somehow explained, or excused, it all. Then again, maybe it did.

_Gerudo…_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art was meant to be of the scene where the fish almost dunks them but... I disregarded that in favor of a quicker post instead.
> 
> The dye from the shells are a slight twist to how they acquired a specific purple dye in the past (irl). It wasn't the shells they used however, but the animals inside. I try to base most things on stuff that actually exists (with or without a slight twist to them and their handling) because it'll sound more logical. And because I always wondered why the gerudo guards did wear such an expensive color.


	6. Patience, the blessing of Nayru

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patience can be our greatest ally or our greatest enemy. As an ally, it gives us time to think and as an enemy, it gives us the chance to procrastinate. Sometimes, however, the goddesses take the choice of more or less patience and time from our hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Link to chapter art in the end notes. Nope, ch 5 didn't get one as ch 4 was so short. It may get one at a later point.

As the days passed, Nabooru became more and more relentless in his inquiries. The man himself had called it “insistent” but Link was loathe to agree as it became harder to dodge him or get out of the conversations when he did pin her down. Verbally that is. Nabooru never did go so far as to use force against her. Link guessed that it wasn’t because she was a woman but rather that he considered her one of the Gerudo. As her leader, he wouldn’t abuse her. It apparently did mean, however, that he could badger her until the next true heiress came around. Link wasn’t sure what was more appreciated but if pressed, she assumed she would say she preferred the latter.

Over half a month had passed since Nabooru’s return and for once, or maybe it was “at long last”, the man had decided to try the tactic of just hanging around Link like a not-too-ominous cloud until she caved. If that now was his preferred route for today’s harassment, he was in for a long wait, Link reasoned as she sat by a low rock fence, cleaning the Master Sword. It was one of the few things she had kept up using or tending to since she got here. She hadn’t really touched her Hylian tunics or boots since then, nor the shield and half of her other equipment from the temples hadn’t been needed. The shield and clothes were stuffed at the very bottom of a chest in her room while the weapons sat upon shelves, hung or rested upon stands. She felt a bit bad for keeping them now that everything had settled and had more than once considered trekking across Hyrule to put most of them back. Maybe there would come a time when they were needed again and in that case they should be in or near their respective temples. But every time she gave the mission serious thought she hesitated. They felt like a part of her. Was it that if she put them back, she would be cutting the last of her ties to Hyrule and its people? Would it be a point of no return where she accepted her situation? She had been a kokiri, in spirit if not in body, for nearly all her life and then to know she was Hylian? Only to give that up almost a year later to take on the persona of an adopted people? Could she do that? Was it too big a step to perform just yet? Her inability to give up the temple weapons seemed to imply as much.

“So…” The drawling voice that came from above her didn’t even make her twitch anymore, much less pause.

“So, what?” she replied with calm indifference as she steeled herself for another bout of questioning. They had sat in companionable silence for a while now and she regretted that it couldn’t continue. The summer was growing heavy but the heat still blazed down from Din’s Pearl in the sky. They were halfway through the seventh month of the year and it was the nights and evenings that were the most enjoyable. The high noon was still spent indoors or under one of the many canopies that dotted the village, mostly backed by a wall for extra shade. This one wasn’t, if you didn’t count the fence Nabooru was sitting on. His long legs rested on the wide slabs of rock as he leaned back against the wall it protruded from. It created a small courtyard that the horse master, Sen, usually used to groom or saddle more than one horse at the time. All the horses were currently down in the lower valley though, grazing. The fence was high enough that Link wouldn’t have been visible over the top where she sat with her back against it. She was currently seated in full view though, facing the entrance of the village, thus making the height of the fence a moot point as far as hiding was concerned.

“This is getting rather long-winded, don’t you think?”

“The summer will end when it ends,” Link replied while knowing full well that wasn’t the issue. However, the amount that Nabooru was willing to banter before cutting to the core of why he was bugging her today was a good indicator to how close to death’s door his patience stood. The telltale silence that followed her reply was _very_ telling and Link felt an uncomfortable chill begin to creep down her spine. Maybe she was pushing it a bit too far by being so purposefully obtuse…

“You know,” Nabooru’s voice sounded from above after a few, for Link, very strained seconds of silence, “I like this sort of game but it grows tiresome after a while when there is no give and all take. Especially in such dreadful heat as this.” The last was said in a slightly more pointed tone than the rest and it made Link swallow. Yep, Nabooru’s patience was croaking its last song. Question was; how many verses were left?

“Try playing it all summer,” Link grumbled as she racked her mind for something that could smooth over the situation or get her out of the conversation. She had long since given up on not looking like she fled from Nabooru when his questions became too insistent. It just wasn’t worth it and the gerudo hadn’t chased after her when she did it… so far.

“Yes, Aveil told me you had been very…” Here he trailed off as if searching for a word. He let Link sweat for a few heartbeats before, with a smirk that she only heard as she refused to turn around, finishing, “coy and forcing him to chase you—”

Link whipped around, eyes wide. “I was not!” she protested loudly, slightly horrified.

“—causing him great frustration,” Nabooru finished, smirk still in place as he regarded her. Too late she realized he had worded it that way on purpose to get a reaction out of her. Some “give” as he had called it. Her tan wasn’t enough to hide the blush that burned over her cheeks like a wildfire but he caught it before she had the chance to turn away, presenting her back to him once more. As she began to polishing her blade again, however, the secondary meaning of his words hit home as she remembered Nabooru’s words when he had returned.

_“Were you getting so lonely here without me that you were about to give in and go to my second for company?”_

The blush intensified and spread, conquering her ears as well. The throaty laughter behind her told her that Nabooru had seen her thoughts catch up to his own. It was suddenly very difficult to move the rag over the blade, the muscles in her arms cramping up as embarrassment ran amok through her. Had Aveil ever given any indication that he was enjoying the hunt? Had she been too deep in her own thoughts so that she was blind to it until the time his patience had begun to run out and he had cornered her physically? Maybe… It was possible… It felt like her face grew redder but that couldn’t be possible. Any more now and her head would explode like a tripped bombflower.

“Sweetheart, this is what I meant by give,” Nabooru said with laughter still in his voice. “But can’t we cut the chase now?” His voice suddenly sounded next to her ear and much lower than normal conversation level, all laughter gone from it. It both froze her body further and set her head to boil as the command to run began to blare in her head. “Link—”

Her name, spoken in that low, steady tone one step from soft, seemed to be the key as the Heroine of Time suddenly sprang up. Her mad dash forward was cut so short it didn’t even have time to start as a hand grabbed her wrist and held fast. Against her better judgment, Link turned, if only halfway, towards her newly acquired anchor. Nabooru had one foot on the ground beside her fallen Master Sword and the other planted on the wide fence but further than that he hadn’t moved. It almost pricked her pride that it had taken that little of his strength to stop her forward momentum. Did that mean she hadn’t really wanted to run? That she hadn’t put enough power behind her movement? The gerudo’s face was unreadable as he met her gaze with calm, steady eyes.

“Link, what happened after the defeat of Ganondorf?” he asked with a calm and completely neutral inflection. Where he had been trying to influence or get a rise out of her earlier, she realized, he was now showing her that while he did want the truth, he wanted her to give it of her own volition. She appreciated that but also understood that when Nabooru’s patience died completely, he _would_ come after her with a purpose but… she couldn’t. She opened her mouth but no words came out. The slightest movement of her captured arm away from Nabooru made his hand tighten over her wrist ever so slightly. It was a warning that it wasn’t over and he was giving her a chance to end it now before it turned into a real chase.

“W… why?” She didn’t get out the whole question but he seemed to catch on because his mouth twisted a miniscule amount, the corners tilting upwards and eyes softening a degree.

“Because I need to know how to best proceed regarding the tribe.” It was a simple but almost too simple reply. It was, however, true. Link regarded Nabooru in silence as the indecision twisted and tore at her insides. “Link—”

“I broke it,” she replied quickly and suddenly, dropping her head as well as her gaze to the ground. “I broke the Ocarina,” she continued as Nabooru began to say “what?”, knowing that since she had started she might as well finish. Having Nabooru ask unnecessary questions would just prolong this painful recollection in a redundant way. “The Ocarina of Time is an heirloom of the royal family and used to open the gateway to the Sacred Realm and the room to the Time Pedestal. It was also what allowed me to travel through time by activating the Time Pedestal with the Master Sword as key. Zelda wanted to send me back now that Ganondorf was dead, wanted to give me the years I had lost. He wanted to undo the painful seven ones that Hyrule had to endure and I…” she paused in her babbling to take a deep breath. She felt like she needed it but it also made her push on through to the heart of the matter. “I broke it. I destroyed the ocarina. It was in the heat of the moment, unplanned and unintended, but I destroyed it. I thought the Sacred Realm was locked without it. The Time Pedestal wouldn’t work without it after all. Every time I went to the Temple of Time to go into the past or the… future, I played the Song of Time to open the doors and activate the Time Pedestal. That was how it worked.”

She had been about to say present because that was what she had come to think of this time as during her months here with the Gerudo. This was the time, the land and people she had strove to save. She couldn’t do it all as a child, would never have been able to defeat Ganondorf. They had locked her away in deathless sleep for seven years until she was old enough to have the power required to fight a woman as formidable as the Gerudo Queen. It had also seemed… right to consider her youth as the past later. She had gone back and forth many times but with each day spent in the future, she had matured further both in body and in mind. Even her time in the past had matured her but it was only in the future that her body seemed to catch up to the mental maturing process she was going through. The journey had started within the deep recesses of the Deku Tree after all, her path towards growing up, and it hadn’t stopped yet. How could she have gone back to the past with all that she had already acquired?

“I wasn’t a child anymore. How could I go back?”

“You’re right.” Nabooru’s voice made Link realize she had spoken the last bit out loud, even if the words had left her as only a whisper. The gerudo had been much too close to miss it. She raised her head now to meet his sincere eyes. “You couldn’t go back.” It was like the iron boots had been sitting on her chest but had suddenly grown wings or been transformed into the hover boots by one of the Great Fairies and flown away. It was liberating to hear Nabooru, anyone really, agree with her. Maybe if she had spoken earlier this freedom would have visited upon her sooner.

“But as an adult you can’t just run away from your problems,” Nabooru continued unyieldingly, causing what felt like a goron’s fist to her gut. It was a harsh assessment but delivered without rancor. It was simply a statement of truth, she knew this and yet… “Children can,” Nabooru relented, continuing on his previous words, “but not adults. So if you want to be an adult, you have to take the adult path. You need to speak with Zelda, sooner or later.”

Link reared back, body stiff. While Nabooru’s grip on her wrist remained, it was now light and only there to cause her to not lose balance. He let her arm go as she slowly pulled it away, dropping his own hand once she had withdrawn hers completely. It ended up in his lap as he stared at her and Link refused to give in to the desire to rub the wrist he had been gripping. “N… not now,” she finally managed to push out and Nabooru simply nodded at her once. She was dismissed if she didn’t wish to stay or say any more on the subject. Link carefully picked up her sword and cleaning rag before slowly making her way back to her room, all the while her heart racing and yelling at her to run. It was the oddest feeling; one part telling her to fall back into a pattern she had applied for the past two months while another, bigger and recently born, part of her told her to move with calm. The worst was over. She had told Nabooru the truth. For some inexplicable reason it was the latter of the two that ruled her as she walked through the halls of the Gerudo’s fortress.

*******

Apparently “not now” had been an acceptable answer for every time Nabooru had inquired about the status of the matter for the past week but Link wondered how long it would last. Nabooru had agreed that she did the right thing but had stipulated that if she wanted to be seen as an adult, she had to act like one. Apparently, solving issues was an adult thing. Hadn’t she then, per se, been solving issues since she was ten? What was she actually seen as now though? She had been asleep for seven years and due to the almost full year she had spent travelling around the temples of Hyrule and between past and present, she was physically a few months from eighteen. The Time Pedestal seemed to take into account however long she spent in the past and sent her back just as many days into the future time, making sure time passed. Where she felt she stood though, mentally, she had no idea.

She had had a crash course in growing up and depending on what she was required to do, she felt her eighteen years but sometimes… Nabooru’s words just made her feel thirteen or fourteen. A step away from a child and a step or two away from adult, that odd middle ground where you weren’t sure how much responsibility you should take and be expected to take. At least that was how she had understood it from talking but mostly listening to the villagers of Kakariko . When inquired about who she was, she had once blurted out that she was running some deliveries for her guardian, which hadn’t been too far from the truth from her first mission and going to meet Zelda for the first time. The adults of Kakariko had praised her for taking part of her family’s business so early and for daring to travel alone as she did. Sword or no, it was dangerous times. She was mature for her age. She sure agreed on that part! Damn mature for her age…

It didn’t help her, though, to decide where she stood now. She only knew she wanted to remain here, in what she saw as present, with her near eighteen year old body. Her mind would catch up sooner rather than later, she felt, even if the pace slowed down a bit compared to the previous year. But that meant following through with what Nabooru had told her. That felt more daunting than she cared to admit.

And speak of the guays…

The leader of the Gerudo was coming down the slope into the valley where Link stood by the wooden fence for the horses. Nabooru didn’t look like his patience was at an end so she assumed it was something else. It was odd how she didn’t feel tense anymore whenever she saw him coming towards her but she supposed it was because she had finally revealed all to him. It did feel better to not hold that in, both when it came to her own peace of mind and to not cheating the Gerudo who had taken her in without question despite everything. Maybe she was ready to try to contact Zelda in some way soon. If only to know if she was forever banned from ever entering Hyrule again. That said… she had been hunting on the outskirts of Gerudo Valley, just where Royal Hyrule started. Well, what Zelda didn’t see didn’t hurt him… or? Was that viable? If she was exiled and then caught, would she be allowed to return to Gerudo Valley unharmed?

Any further thought process was interrupted by Nabooru who had arrived by the enclosure. “Link, I need to talk to you.” He sounded serious, she noted as she turned to face him. He hadn’t take that tone or expression while sparring with her, or chasing really, over the last few weeks so she could only assume this didn’t have anything to do with her and Zelda.

“What’s wrong?”

“A messenger arrived from Hyrule Castle.” Link froze. Apparently she could be dead wrong. At least it didn’t have deadly consequences as her mistakes sometimes had threatened to have in the past. Miss to block a stalfos’ blade and you could be in real trouble if not facing your very last trouble. This didn’t seem that bad but maybe she shouldn’t speak too soon, seeing what had just been said… “There has been a request for our presence.” Yeah, that speaking too soon was coming after her like a poe. She must have frozen because Nabooru frowned at her. “Link.”

The Hylian nodded. She knew she had to, he didn’t have to tell her that. “I know, I thought I was ready to…” She trailed off and blinked before raising her head that had dropped to stare at the ground. “Wait, ours? Why you, too? And how could he know I was here?” No one had seen her out in the fields while hunting, she was sure, so how could Zelda know she was here?

“If you let me explain, you would know,” Nabooru interrupted her before she could go any further. “What came was an invitation, to use the politically correct word for it, and it was for me.”

“Political?” It was Link’s turn to frown. Nabooru gave a somewhat strained lopsided smile.

“Yes, political. Personally, I would call it an order. The Hylians need to know the Gerudo “invasion” ended with the death of our chieftess. The soon-to-be king has thus put this on the agenda before even his own coronation and just after Hyrule Castle received the bare minimum in repairs to function and not give everyone the creeps.”

“What exactly is he asking for?” It felt odd to speak of Zelda without naming him but due to the topic it also felt right for some reason. Almost as though she was more inclined to stand firmly on the Gerudo’s side in the matter instead of with Hyrule or at least try for neutral. She _had_ seen the worst of what Ganondorf had to offer, she _should_ understand the fear among the people of Hyrule. Wasn’t she their heroine? Or… was she truly beginning to see herself as more gerudo than Hylian? It was an odd but not as disconcerting a thought as maybe it should have been.

“To put it bluntly?” Nabooru said with a derisive snort. “A show. He wants me to go there and, as the Sage of Spirit and the leader of the Gerudo, tell the nobles of Hyrule that they have nothing to fear. Swear to their soon-to-be king that no attack based on vengeance for our important once-a-century female being slain by a Hylian!” It wasn’t a loud or overly strong snarl but there was plenty of feeling behind it as Nabooru turned to glare out over the pastures. For some reason, Link didn’t feel hit by the words as she once might have. A part of her knew that while she had been that Hylian, she wasn’t anymore, not to the Gerudo. And especially not to Nabooru.

“And that’s why I want you.”

“Huh?” Link’s attention and head whipped back to focus on Nabooru’s dark amber gaze. It was dead serious. During any other time when the wording had been so straightforward she would have thought it best to flee because if Nabooru was serious enough to forego banter, teasing and flirting, all you could do was agree or run, she had learnt.

“I can bring another member of the tribe with me. I assume they think I would choose my second but I’m not that stupid. Neither do I care enough for their politics and sensibilities to do what they expect and see as right in a situation like this. I am requesting you, as a member of our elite warriors, to accompany me to Hyrule Castle for this function as my bodyguard.”

Link blinked in slight shock at the gerudo who seemed to have steel in his eyes despite their warm hue. She took half a step back before catching herself and stepping forward again. “You hardly need a bodyguard, Nabooru,” she pointed out the obvious but refrained from using any other tone than carefully neutral. He snorted his agreement. Lest it was high magic and he was outnumbered, Nabooru almost never needed help or protection.

“Indeed, but the Hylians expect me to bring someone and if it isn’t someone with power among the Gerudo, there would have to be a reason for me to bring another warrior of my tribe. Besides, maybe they would be more mollified to see their savior at our side, watching over the “dangerous Gerduo” for them,” he said with a mocking sneer but his eyes glinted with mischief and dark humor.

“I still don’t… I’m not sure.” Link felt like taking a step back right then but held her ground. She would not run from this but would argue her way out of it. That had to be worth something as far as seeing her as an adult went.

“Put it like this, sweetheart,” Nabooru said almost amicably, spreading his hands on front of him, “this little orgy of formality and politics is to give both parties assurance. The provinces of Hyrule, its people and vassals, get affirmation that the Gerudo won’t attack in force and we get a decree that those aforementioned have to follow. This decree states that none are allowed to attack us either, despite all the mess that Ganondorf caused. So here it is; I have to go and they expect me to bring someone of importance. Now, you can either be my escort, or I can be yours. Take a pick,” Nabooru finished adamantly.

“I…” Link could only stare as the information swirled around her head. She could do this, right? If she thought of it only as her going there for the Gerudo and not because she had to speak to Zelda, she could do it. Right? Just like before, with Ganondorf. She had a duty. She could do it. Was this considered manipulating yourself or simply convincing yourself of doing what was right?

“Besides,” Nabooru interrupted her train of thought with a gentler tone, “I’ll be there when you see Zelda. You don’t have to do it alone,” he told her with a smile pulling up one corner of his mouth. Link couldn’t help but to reciprocate. Yes, she could do it. Even if Nabooru was only there to tell her to man up at the very last moment, that would be enough. Navi had always been by her side but he couldn’t do much else than give her advice and warn her of any incoming enemies. It had been enough at times but sometimes she felt like she fought alone and in a sense, she had. Nabooru’s words made her feel like someone had her back. The least she could do was return the favor.

“Alright,” she agreed with a smile. Nabooru nodded at her but before he could turn to leave, she hurried to speak up again. “Also… thank you.” At the gerudo’s raised brow, she clarified. “For being patient with me and giving me space.” Nabooru snorted, apparently for some reason amused.

“Sweetheart, I would give you almost anything if you but ask.” His words were sincere but he had to go and ruin it all by breaking the serious look on his face and giving her a wink. Link gave an annoyed huff and sharply turned back to the large enclosure. Epona was galloping across the slightly tired looking grass with his tail held high and three of the Gerudo’s horses following his lead. At least he seemed to be enjoying their new home without any restrictions and demands, she mused. Was she being jealous of her horse? …Maybe just a little bit.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art: http://jinsei.deviantart.com/art/Changing-destinies-ch-6-patience-523890462  
> Link is wearing her recently acquired elite warrior uniform. I spruced up the original design a bit and yes, the other members wear the same thing. As Link did complain about in chapter 2, I think it was, "nothing too revealing". She appears to slowly ease into the Gerudo's style though. She even let them pierce her ears.


	7. Courage, the blessing of Farore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To grow up takes huge amounts of courage and daring to trust yourself and others. How strong resolve does one person need to survive facing someone dear whom they have wronged?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the great delay. A big project (for work) came my way, which is why I'm now posting all the chapters I've written so far even though only one of them has an illustration. The rest may or may not get illustrations as I have time but I'll focus on getting the chapters out instead. Anyone else who wants to draw is welcome to though. I'd love to see it. :)  
> The illust for this chapter is the scene at the very end. Link in the end notes.

They set off nearly a week later with Link, at long last, donning her green tunic once again. She couldn’t say why she chose that outfit but Nabooru didn’t complain, just gave her a pack when they saddled up. They weren’t going to be gone long so she didn’t need many clothes. The pack, however, he said contained something appropriate for the festivities that would take place the evening before the official oaths the day after. When Link had wondered about him, Nabooru had patted a saddle bag already strapped to his own steed and given her a somewhat wry smile. He’d already been tortured on that account. Due to Link recently having gotten new clothes made, it hadn’t been necessary to have her try anything on. The urge to have a look had burned her fingers but to make good time at an adequate while unstrenuous pace for the horses, there hadn’t been time. She would see them soon enough anyway, Nabooru promised with a laugh.

Like Link on the way from Castle Town, they stopped for the night at the roadside but were up to greet the sunrise on horseback. They could have made the trip during the daylight hours if they had ridden hard but it was an unnecessary strain upon the horses. For every mile crossed though, Link felt more and more uneasy and fidgety. It was the same feeling she had always gotten the deeper she delved into the sacred temples, especially the last three. She never could decide which one had been worse; the Shadow or Spirit Temple.

When they finally arrived at Castle Town during mid-afternoon, the drawbridge was down as it always had been no matter what side of seven years she had traversed. The wood looked new though, it was the first indication. Epona’s ears clipped back and forth nervously as they clomped across the drawbridge for until recently he had never wished to go too close to the hole in the tall stone walls. He had sensed the bad energy writhing within the walls beyond the darkness that, no matter the time of day or weather, seemed to cling to the entrance of Castle Town. Now, however, it was bright. You could see the path a head and it almost gave Link pause. It looked so different. She would like to say it looked familiar as, visually, it was the same view from her youth but the feeling was different. It was as though… Castle Town had finally taken on its true age. While it may have looked nearly the same as before, there was a dark knowledge in the back of its mind that something bad had happened. It was as though Castle Town had grown up, Link realized with a start. It was an odd but fitting way to describe it. Nabooru neither laughed nor refuted her assessment when she voiced it, which made her more certain of its accuracy.

The same feeling followed them as they rode further into the town. It wasn’t dead, figuratively or literally, but neither was it lively. There were people about in the market place but the noise did die down a noticeable degree with they rode through. Link wasn’t sure if it was because of Nabooru, if the Hylians now knew what a gerudo truly looked like as most hadn’t seen Ganondorf in person, or if it was because they were new faces. The pressure in the air finally seemed to let up when Link bravely cast a smile at one of the closest townsfolk and, to her surprise and relief, after a heartbeat the man smiled back. It was tentative but with a determination behind it that warmed her heart and caused her own smile to grow. Hyrule would recover and if they could be assured that the Gerudo wouldn’t be a potential danger, the wounds would hopefully heal all the faster. The noise level of the marketplace rose again, slowly but surely, after that short exchange. As they reached the end of the large plaza, Link rode up beside Nabooru, catching the small smile that played on his lips. She couldn’t say why but it felt like he was laughing internally both at and with her due to the situation at the marketplace.

Link cast him a lighthearted grin, which Nabooru reciprocated. Her heart felt lighter and despite the castle looming up ahead, its features now more clearly visible, she didn’t feel ill at ease. She hoped it would stay because she knew she would need every bit of calm and courage to face Zelda but this was a good start to it. She could do it. She could take the bull by its horns. She prayed that conviction stayed with her.

Said conviction did feel a bit unsteady but was still standing when they reached the castle gates and Nabooru stated his identity before handing over a scroll. It was a paper he had received from the royal messenger a week prior and it stated pretty much the same as the gerudo just had declared but with more formal wording probably. It also held the royal family’s seal in wax. The gate had four guards in place as far as Link could see, two on the wall and two on the ground. There could be more just on the other side of the gate of course. Whatever the case, that was a lot more than when she was young. After looking over the document and agreeing that everything was in order, he cast a glance at her.

“And you are, miss?”

Link swallowed. Did she dare say that? Did anybody know what had happened the hours after Ganondorf’s defeat? Did they even know _who_ defeated the gerudo? She was obviously not a gerudo so it had to look odd that she accompanied the Gerudo leader. “She’s my bodyguard and companion for this short visit,” Nabooru smoothly filled the silence before it grew. Link was grateful for the quick save and just nodded carefully. “As you can see, she’s as Hylian as you, good man,” Nabooru finished with a sideways nod at Link’s ears. For some reason it caused her to blush and raise a hand in an attempt to cover said appendage that was closest to the gerudo. Having learnt how to read Nabooru over the last month told her one thing about this exchange though; Nabooru was lying through his teeth. He didn’t consider her Hylian and it wasn’t because he had already made that abundantly clear. It was just barely audible in his too cheerily amused tones, something most if not everyone else would read as amusement over a ridiculously obvious statement having to be made. The guard cleared his throat and nodded.

“Pardon my slip, the invitation does state you will bring an escort,” he apologized. Nabooru snorted.

“It states companion of import or some other such nonsense,” he stated with faint disinterest before giving the guard a light smirk. “But I’m surrounded by my tribe at all times of the day and it would be prudent to show we can have friendly relations with the Hylians without a treaty imploring us to do as much. It’s just two guays with one arrow,” he winked at the other man who killed a chuckle before any of his colleagues heard it. Link assumed this was something that only men would understand immediately or without explanation so she let it slide. “She’s wicked with a blade,” Nabooru said as a parting shot while the gate was raised. He even tapped the scar upon his left cheekbone, one he had received battling with Link while under mind control in the Spirit Temple, but there was… _something_ to the tone of his voice that almost seemed to imply something else. Link just couldn’t figure out what. The guard smiled knowingly while shaking his head before waving them along.

When the gates began to close behind them, unease began to creep up Link’s back. “Relax.” She couldn’t help it; she jumped at Nabooru’s words. “They’ll think we have something to hide if you act that like,” he berated her without any ill will. “Act as though nothing is wrong and imagine we’re back in the valley. They’re all gerudo,” he told her as regarded him.

“I feel trapped with that gate closed,” she confessed as she allowed some worry to flash visibly in her eyes. Nabooru regarded her calmly.

“Any locked door, no matter how big, can be opened. Anything else, we’ll see to when we need to.” Nabooru could see she wasn’t feeling too convinced so he reached over a squeezed her shoulder. “This won’t take long. A few days tops. I don’t feel at home here either and would rather leave as soon as possible, trust me,” he told her with a reassuring smile. Link returned it with as much confidence as she could.

“Alright. I’ll try. Locked doors haven’t stopped me much before,” she agreed, thinking back to the temples she had battled her way through. Ritual, puzzle, enemy or locked door; she had gotten through them all. She would get through this too.

“That’s my girl,” Nabooru grinned at her as the came up the still barren slope to the castle entrance. An attempt had been made to reshape the landscape to resemble what it looked like before Ganondorf tore into the castle grounds but summer had been too close when restoration had begun so no plants beyond trees had been set down. It may have looked like a ghost of its former glory but it looked tons better than when she last saw it, Link concluded.

Everything could heal, the castle grounds and Castle Town seemed to argue as they slowly came back to life. If that was so, then so would the rest of Hyrule too.

*******

Once inside the castle, their horses were taken to the stables and their packs carried up behind them as they were escorted to their rooms in the guest wing. The welcoming reception would take place in the evening, shortly after sunset, so they had a few hours to freshen up and rest. Link almost protested when Nabooru requested hot water be brought up but a swift, if slightly sharp, glance from the gerudo made her hold her tongue. Once the servants had left to perform the request, Link turned to Nabooru who spoke before she had time to voice her complaint.

“We need to wash the road off of us. The Hylians will want the best of us but expect the worst. Let’s disappoint them,” he finished with a small, mocking grin. A year ago, Link would have said that statement made no sense but she knew better now. She also knew to trust Nabooru. “It’s not too different from taking a dip in a stream or our river,” he told her as he opened the door to his chamber opposite her own. “Tell me if you have trouble with any part of the outfit and I’ll give you a hand.” It could have sounded like his usual teasing but Nabooru’s voice was serious so Link nodded her thanks before they parted.

A good while later, when she had had her warm bath and a short nap, she didn’t feel much like thanking Nabooru. For _anything_. She considered that maybe curiosity wouldn’t have killed this cat and she should have insisted to have a look at her outfit before they departed. Could she get away with flaying Nabooru? Both here and at home? Somehow she doubted it. If she even could get hold of him long enough to do it. A knock upon the door startled her into a jump.

“Are you dressed?”

Link cast her eyes between the door, and Nabooru beyond it, and the mirror she had discovered halfway through dressing. It was an odd feeling, getting such a clear image reflected at her when she had previously only used calm pools of water for the job. “Do I have to?” she shot back and silence followed for a moment.

“…Are you decent at least?” Nabooru’s voice was somewhere between somewhat suffering and tired.

“I… I have clothes on but I don’t know if I’m decent!” she called back. Considering how much, or little, these garments covered, in her opinion, she wasn’t sure if it could be classified as decent _or_ dressed. Not as far as she had seen among most people in her travels. That didn’t include the Gerudo though.

“I’m dragging you out here soon, independent on your state of dress, unless you stop talking to me through a door,” Nabooru threatened but without much spite, just a certainty that he would do it.

“But—”

“You have until the count of three. One!”

Link panicked and jumped at the door, throwing it open. Nabooru was indeed standing right outside it with his hand dangerously close to where the door handle had been just a moment before. Now a smile spread over his face. “Good girl,” he praised before raising the hand and waving her through. “Now come out here and let me look at you properly.” Link didn’t move but at Nabooru’s raised brows, and the silent count of “two” in his eyes, stepped through the doorway and out into the hall. He looked her up and down and then tilted his head to the side. “I don’t see the problem, sweetheart. You look great,” he told her sincerely.

“I’m— You—! It hardly covers anything!” Link spluttered, waving her hands around in an attempt to take in the whole thing.

“You’re covered,” Nabooru pointed out with a raised brow and a look that said he still wasn’t seeing the problem. “You’re about as covered as I am,” he amended when he saw she was about to protest again. Link finally looked at the man properly and, to a degree, she had to agree. He wore a pair of long, fingerless gloves with either extra or simply decorative protection for the back of the hand and with gold decorating the wrist and top of the glove. He also wore a sleeveless coat and a very short vest that revealed as much of the muscled stomach as his normal garb did but way more of his chest. The high but open collar of the latter did nothing to hide the necklace that fitted snugly around his throat but Link could tell that it was different to the one he usually wore. The thick wires of gold were set in a more intricate design but the gem was still a polished ruby. He still wore the mark of the Gerudo’s elite warriors on his forehead, the belt decoration marking him as the leader of the Gerudo as well as the large, faceted ruby in its gold casing on his chest that marked him as the caretaker of the Spirit Temple. The trousers were cut somewhat lower than usual and were hugged to the high hip with a sash. The legs were cut loose like always among the Gerudo but they weren’t as voluminous as the ones he wore at home due to the boots cutting them short just below the knee. Gloves, boots and coat were dyed a perfect black while the rest of him, sans the sash with its sunny yellow hue, were white. Most parts of his outfit were decorated with gold edging or had the traditional Gerudo pattern in the complimentary red-blue combination.

Link stared at him, trying to find a good point to argue with but was coming up short. “…Your trousers doesn’t show your legs,” she finally said, knowing it sounded weak. He did look good but that wasn’t the point here. Nabooru arched a brow, his look very telling but yes, she felt like picking at details, damn him!

She wore a pair of detached sleeves, held in place at the top by thin gold bracelets decorated with faceted rubies and golden bracers at the wrists. The latter were matched by a pair of short and entirely decorative greaves in gold that held the hem of ballooned trousers in place. Said trousers, that Nabooru didn’t seem to understand why they offended her so, were cut open along the side of the leg, both along the inner and outer leg. The slit was carefully edged in gold embroidery and only reached to low hip on the outside and not much higher on the inside of the leg. It was revealing, yes, but not to the point of insufferable, that she could give them.

“It’s hardly visible,” Nabooru countered unhelpfully, “you wear a coat over it.” Link disagreed. That “coat” as Nabooru put it, did reach just beyond the top of the greaves that covered half her shin but it fell open to reveal her stomach, much like his, and was attached to the bottom of her bodice. Or whatever it now could be called… It _was_ fairly sturdy and tight enough to not fall off no matter what happened but it felt like it covered no more than half her bust. It also left her shoulders and neck bare but for the wide, golden necklace decorated with gemstones both faceted and polished. The low cut of her trousers didn’t make her feel less exposed either. The sash was more decorative than anything, but then… most of their outfits seemed more decorative than functional.

At least they almost matched as far as colors went. Her coat, or drapery, and sandals were the same creamy white as his, decorated in gold and the same geometric pattern on the former. Sleeves and sash had been dyed the faintest rose color while her trousers and bodice were in a bold ruby-tinted magenta hue. Basically, if Zelda didn’t recognize her face, he certainly wouldn’t miss her due to the bright picture she made. “I’m visible for miles around,” she honestly complained. She so wasn’t used to that.

Nabooru took pity on her for that one at least, giving her an apologetic smile. “Sorry, sweetheart, it’s a good color for your new tan and those pale tresses of yours.” Then he frowned at her. “And speaking of your head,” he said with a sigh.

“What?” Link threw her eyes around, looking for that mirror again. “Is something wrong?” Had she messed up when she put her hair up in a ponytail using that gold and ruby hair clip? It wasn’t something she was used to in the least because she had never had this long hair before.

“No, no.” Nabooru sighed again and he sounded tired. “It’s… not that.” He regarded her silently for a moment, looking much too sober for Link’s liking. “I have something for you,” he continued and raised a hand he had up until then held in a loose fist. Link reached out both of hers and stared at what the gerudo dropped into her waiting palms. When she raised her head to meet his eyes, Nabooru gave her a wan smile. “Just in case,” he told her seriously.

“Just… just in case?” Link parroted incredulously as she couldn’t make herself close her fingers over the polished fire opal in its gold setting. “You told me, not even a month ago, that you use these as markers for…!” she trailed off, unable to complete the sentence.

“You already have the uniform, that you don’t have the jewel yet is just because we had to find one of the required clarity. We usually don’t confirm new elite warriors after the beginning of summer because the last caravan has already gone by then,” he explained without looking away. It sounded so simple but he was much too serious for this to be seen as “simple” in any way. “And we cannot know how this will go. Until we have that affirmation from the next ruler of Hyrule and he has been crowned, ensuring that all vassals will indeed follow his lead, we don’t take any chances with our own. As such, you carry that jewel all the time. At least while you’re not in the village.”

“Just in case,” Link finished the sentence for him and Nabooru gave her a very small lopsided smile.

“Yes,” he replied without remorse or regret. He seemed more resigned to the necessity of it, as though he found it uncomfortable to even consider it to be a possibility. She was too strong to fall for anything mundane and the gravest danger had passed now, hadn’t it? It was his duty, though, to demand it of her and her duty, as one of them, to make sure they knew when and where she fell. _If_ she fell. Link stared down at the jewelry and felt like sighing tiredly but nothing came. It somehow felt disrespectful to do it.

“Come,” Nabooru said after a moment of silence, beckoning her towards his door. “I’ll help you put it on.” Link nodded and at last transferred the piece to one hand, closing her fingers around it with what felt like finality. So be it.

*******

When they at long last stood before the closed doors into the throne room where the reception was being held, Link was beginning to severely regret coming. She had mustered her courage but now, as she stood there with Nabooru’s arm hooked around hers and the doors began to open, she felt like it may abandon her. A fleeting thought whispered to her that maybe Nabooru had taken her arm not because it was expected but more in case she tried to flee. Link gritted her teeth and angrily batted at the thought with a mental hand. She would not falter. She had come this far. She had been blessed with the Triforce of Courage. She could do this, it was part of her growing up and having a place in this world. Twisting her hand around, she grasped Nabooru’s as the doors opened completely and someone just inside announced them. Nabooru cast a quick, sidelong glance at her but didn’t say or do anything else. And then they were moving.

The view before them, marked by a red carpet and undisturbed of the bodies of the other participants, ended in a dais. She had only once before seen it in its proper state and that time it had been through a window. Now it was looming before her and upon it… Link swallowed as she saw Zelda again for the first time in months. Her grip on Nabooru’s hand tightened and was reciprocated, something she appreciated but it didn’t stop her legs from trying to slow down. The man beside her didn’t follow suit though but kept the pace, forcing her to do the same or stumble and fall. She didn’t want to fall here or while wearing this outfit because it would be embarrassing and she just knew Nabooru would catch her. Somehow she didn’t think having Nabooru’s arms around her would improve the evening right now.

“I shouldn’t be here,” she whispered through barely moving lips as she tried to prolong the inevitable.

“Yes, you should. Now stop fidgeting,” Nabooru hissed back, leaning his head towards her only minutely to not give the impression that anything was amiss. Link didn’t want to complicate things for the Gerudo by doing something that may harshen the already cautious, mistrustful or sometimes downright unfriendly eyes following them. To be honest, most of those gazes were directed at Nabooru for obvious reasons. Link, while tanned, still had the features of a Hylian and thus drew more quizzical, curious or simply odd looks that she couldn’t really place. The closer they got to the throne though, the clearer she could see Zelda’s face. If she hadn’t known him so well, she would have missed the fact that his face wasn’t neutral but flipped through so many emotions and so quickly that it was impossible to settle on one. Everyone else at this reception though… They made her long for the Master Sword. She felt like she was facing a room full of enemies.

“This isn’t safe.”

“No one said it would be,” Nabooru countered without challenge.

“We shouldn’t be here unarmed.”

“Weapons are of no use here; besides, they would never have let us in armed.”

“I feel naked without my sword.”

She could hear Nabooru take a very deliberate breath through his nose and let it out through his mouth. His patience was starting to croak. “If you don’t stop fidgeting, _I’m_ going to show you what naked truly means,” he threatened through gritted teeth without looking at her in an attempt to keep his calm. Link’s head whipped around before she could stop herself though.

“You wouldn’t in front of all these people!” she whispered back because she couldn’t make herself speak louder even if she hadn’t cared about being overheard while she stared at him, horrified.

Nabooru finally broke the illusion of nothing being wrong by turning his head towards her though never faltering in his step. The small smile painting his lips was strained. “Don’t tempt me,” he warned her as he spoke slowly and with a calm that didn’t reach his eyes. There was something else entirely in those dark amber depths that made her stomach jump into her chest cavity before making a big belly flop right down into her gut. It wasn’t unpleasant but highly unnerving… in an odd way that she couldn’t describe right then and there. And then they were out of time because they had arrived at the dais.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art: http://jinsei.deviantart.com/art/Changing-destinies-ch-7-entrance-533713365


	8. Passion, the blessing of Din

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The goddess of Power blesses this world with many things, but her greatest gift is passion; burning, powerful emotions, no matter what fuels them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As said in the last chapter, I have a work project and thus this and the next chapter will be posted immediately and without art. This was because they're all horrifying cliffhangers, chapter 7, 8 and 9, so I'd prefer not to be mean. I also know I'd be annoyed if this was a story I read and it had long periods of nothing only to give another chapter ending in ლಠ益ಠლ. Sorry, I adore that face.

And silence reigned.

Link wasn’t sure who was to speak first and it felt like both of them should. She should greet Zelda but at the same time it felt like Zelda, as the soon-to-be king of Hyrule, should speak first. Currently, he was just staring at her but of all the emotions flitting through his sapphire eyes, she couldn’t spot any anger. It made Link stop fidgeting and her back straightened that little bit it had sunk as she tried to force herself to properly look Zelda in the eye. She did now and it was clear; the anger that had turned the deep hue into a bright, electrified blue during their last meeting wasn’t there now. It was… odd, but liberating. Zelda wasn’t angry anymore! Or at least it would seem he wasn’t. Either way, it was nice and caused a small smile to touch Link’s lips.

That seemed to snap the prince out of his trance as he blinked sharply before, almost reluctantly, turning his gaze to the taller man.

“Nabooru, leader of the Gerudo and Sage of Spirit, welcome to Hyrule Castle.” Zelda had hesitated for the fraction of a second when speaking the gerudo’s name but none save Link and Nabooru had been close enough to notice it. Rising from his throne, Zelda now took a step forward. “And… welcome back, Link, the savior of Hyrule and the Sacred Realm.” It was a carefully neutral wording, appropriate for the occasion and all the participants, where only the things important were highlighted and none of the blame placed. Even Link could see it but it helped to be this close to Zelda. There appeared to be a question in his eyes though as he regarded her and she wondered if it had to do with their previous parting or with her tanned skin and extremely Gerudo appearance. Link subtly licked her lips. She wasn’t sure what her answer would be even if he did speak the question.

“Greetings, Zel— your highness,” Link replied with a short and slightly awkward bow because she wasn’t sure what else to do, seeing as she rarely stood on ceremony with Zelda, and feeling awkward and embarrassed in such revealing clothing.

“Greetings Zelda, soon-to-be king of Hyrule and Sage of Time, leader of the Seven,” Nabooru said with calm and more poise than Link had ever seen in him before. He didn’t bow though, something that, Link assumed, was the cause for the light murmur rippling through the crowd.

“It’s good to see you again after the Sacred Realm was returned to its proper state and its guardianship re-established,” Zelda spoke up, his voice a touch louder than necessary but it made the rest of the grand hall quiet down again. It seemed like nobody was willing to take too much public offense until their next ruler did or approved of such an action. “How fares the Spirit Temple and your people?”

Nabooru inclined his head, the only sign of respect he had so far deigned to give, if it now could be called a sign of respect rather than politeness. “The temple shall, as ever and always, stand the test of time, faith and abuse. It fares no worse from the invasion of evil forces than any of the temples have,” he replied amicably and with a polite smile. “The Gerudo are at ease. Their pain is slow to recede but some things are just never meant to be though they tease us with their possibility and proximity.”

Link blinked at that. It was worded so smoothly and diplomatically and was very obviously about the Gerudo and Ganondorf. And yet… Link felt like Nabooru was talking about two things at the same time. Or wasn’t he? Was it maybe that the same words could be said about something else because it felt like Nabooru could deliver them again and the meaning would change. Zelda must have caught it too for his eyes narrowed at the other man before they slid over Link and took on light that was indecisive in its nature. Link thought she could read it as both worried and annoyed. Or was it something else instead of the latter? It reminded her of Mido at times, like a shadow of what that girl’s eyes sometimes had held when confronting Link. It was… odd. And disconcerting. It was a look that didn’t suit Zelda. Link let the feeling fill her eyes as she returned Zelda’s stare. It didn’t take long before the prince blinked at her, something like surprise flitting across his face for a heartbeat before he gave her a small smile. An arrow shot through Link’s heart. That smile… it was so similar to the one he had given her in the Temple of Time that day. The smile he gave her after the kiss…

Silence seemed to drag out until Zelda at last cleared his throat and straightened up out of the faint incline his posture had had. “You… have a lot of scars,” he finally got out but it sounded like he had wanted to say “you look well”. Link blinked at him a few times. Why could he just not say what he meant? It wasn’t that hard. Or did it have something to do with the crowd surrounding them? Then again, Zelda had always been forced to take the almost impersonal route, the proper route, even when they were alone. The kiss he had given her in the Temple of Time had been the most impulsive she had seen him outside of battle. She had been okay with that but after months in the company of the Gerudo she wanted to see Zelda act with a bit more feeling, a bit more spirit. Just a bit more… something. Maybe she was becoming too used to the Gerudo’s way of being.

“I’ve been in a lot of battle,” she offered him carefully. It was neutral, impersonal, enough, right? What she really wanted was for all the people in this hall to disappear so she could speak properly to Zelda. Nabooru wouldn’t have cared if the whole fortress heard or saw anything he said or did. They were such contrasts, night and day.

“And only half of them are visible,” Nabooru muttered, voice loud enough so only the three of them heard. “You should see the rest of her body.” Link had to agree. Revealing as this outfit was, half her scars were still covered. Besides the ones that laid bare, which were one on the inside of her shin, another on the high hip and a third just under her collar bone, there were a few more. She had one on each arm and another on her back, on the lower part of her ribcage. Zelda’s head whipped towards Nabooru though, a furious light burning away any warmth from his eyes. The sight made Link’s whole form twitch and freeze before she realized it was similar, but not the same, to when she destroyed the Ocarina of Time. However, it wasn’t directed at her this time. Eyes shooting over to Nabooru, fear and worry piercing her, she watched the gerudo simply smile at Zelda. It was calm and controlled and seemed to say something that Link couldn’t read. Link could tell there was a conversation going on between the two men but it was silent and done with the eyes and, sadly, apparently in a language she couldn’t read.

“Zelda? Nabooru?” At Link’s questioning tone, Zelda moved his attention back onto Link and for a moment, a heartbeat, the anger remained in his gaze but then it changed. It mellowed in a sense but at the same time not. It wasn’t angry anymore but still hot. It made Link’s chest tight and she would have like to say it reminded her of Ganondorf’s tone when she had spoken of the Triforce; possessive. But that… wasn’t right. Was it?

“We’re here to ensure peace and understanding between the Gerudo and Hyrule, aren’t we?” she asked, tilting her head slightly as she met the prince’s gaze. Something seemed to change in Zelda’s gaze, quick as an arrow, but he continued to watch her. “Zelda, please. They need this, both Hyrule and the Gerudo. Only you can give it,” she pleaded gently. It was true though. She had always brought the necessary peace at the tip of a sword but this… all this, here and now, it relied on peace through talk and on honoring old oaths. Only Zelda could give the land what it needed this time. What other way was there?

Zelda’s features softened and he gave her a ghost of a smile. “You’re right,” he agreed in a low voice before taking half a step back. He had drawn much too close to not give the impression that whatever the exchange was about, it was personal. With so much at stake, nothing could be personal. “We’ve gathered here to lay it clear, for both Hyrule and the Gerudo, that any antipathy between our two people died with the sole person who strayed from the correct path,” Zelda spoke up with a clear and remarkably collected voice. With each new word leaving his mouth, Link could tell he relaxed into a role bred into him for years upon years; that of the ruler. “Ganondorf was overwhelmed by ambition that was transformed by all the wrong elements. However, not all the gerudo are the same and their leader is here today, accompanied by the one who helped bring the light back to our land and defeat Ganondorf, as a proof of these words. The Gerudo aren’t about to exact vengeance for their one member who erred and as such, we of Hyrule should extend our sincere wish for peaceful times as well. Tomorrow the oath ceremony will be held where you can hear these same words spoken and sworn by the Gerudo as a whole through their leader.” Zelda then turned to Nabooru, a pleasant but tactful smile on his lips. It gave it the faintest air of being impersonal but Link guessed that showing too much emotion and goodwill before the oaths were given from both sides would be imprudent. “Isn’t that correct, Nabooru of the Gerudo?”

“That is indeed correct, Zelda, Sage of Time.”

At Nabooru’s calm and almost completely blank affirmation the hall fell silent as all eyes turned to the gerudo. Link couldn’t tell why even though something was gnawing at the back of her head that she suspected was the reason for the sudden chill that permeated the hall. Eyes flitting back and forth, she swallowed and took a tiny step closer to Nabooru to hiss her inquiry but Zelda beat her to it.

“Nabooru, I don’t believe it wise to exclude my royal title among the nobility. Especially not before the oath ceremony,” he hissed at the other man and it clicked for Link. She could also hear the tiniest, but unspoken, hint of “or ever” in the first sentence and assumed that Nabooru didn’t miss it either. The gerudo, completely unmoved, turned his attention onto the prince.

“No, I do believe I spoke correctly, Sage,” he replied loud and clear as he turned fully to Zelda, having turned towards the room when confirming Zelda’s speech and causing the gathered Hylians to freeze in reproach. “You are the Sage of Time as I am the Sage of Spirit. We are equal in that light, Zelda, and I will not see that diminished.” Even Link could tell this was going downhill and fast. Why was Nabooru saying this and now of all times? He was correct on that part, surely, but was now the best time? “Especially not when you demand that the Gerudo give oath and bow down on the hope that all of Hyrule will follow your lead and not attack us, openly or otherwise? Ganondorf was one of us and she did stray from the correct path but do you not think we feel that more keenly than any of you do? We lost someone who only arrives among our blood every century but we know she erred and saw her flaw. Yet you, Zelda, demand we state publicly that we won’t take revenge upon the people who killed her when that very people treated us, and will continue to treat us, like thieves, murderers and worse? And all you and yours will give us in return is the promise that you won’t attack us first?”

Each time Nabooru spoke Zelda’s name or simply labeled him as a sage, the air seemed to grow heavier in the hall. Link nervously crept closer to Nabooru’s side. Maybe she could convince him to speak to Zelda about this later, in private? Or maybe it was already too late.

“Such a _grand_ concession, your _highness_ ,” the gerudo almost snarled with mock sincerity and great scorn. How Nabooru managed to use two so very different emphasizes in one sentence, Link couldn’t understand but there was no time for admiration, reproach or anything else. Link snatched up Nabooru’s arm and hugged it to her as she gave Zelda a quick but low bow. Or as low as she dared for fear that her bodice actually wouldn’t hold her in despite the good fit.

“I believe we shall take our leave for tonight!” she said quickly and didn’t bother to feel embarrassed about the fact that her voice had almost broken at the end. They just needed to get out of there. Now! Tightening her grip on Nabooru, Link hurried towards the doors, dragging the gerudo with her but after the first few steps, he was walking, or more like stomping, beside her. She even had to up her pace a notch to keep up with his long, angry strides. The doors opened for them and closed just as quickly. Link wasn’t sure if the guards did it because of the thunderous darkness boiling and almost spilling over in Nabooru’s eyes, because they wanted them out of their prince’s presence or because Zelda made some gesture to let them go. The cold air in the throne room seemed to follow them though as they swiftly moved through the halls. Link really wished she had her sword now and for no other reason than she would have felt more secure with it strapped to her back. Never had she felt such an ominous air in a gathering void of weapons.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their designated chambers in the guest wing. No one in the castle had yet heard about what had happened in the throne room so the most they got were some curious or quizzical glances. Most, Link thought, would not think it as serious as it truly was, at least not yet. Once they arrived at their rooms, Nabooru slowed their pace over the course of only a few steps, coming to a halt in front of her door. His teeth were gritted in anger and he was glaring at the far end of the hallway. Then, without warning, he punched the wooden doorframe, making Link jump slightly. She had never seen him this angry before.

“Nabooru…”

“Don’t!” he interrupted her in a somewhat hoarse voice, sharply raising a hand that made her halt in her path as she had begun to move towards him. He both looked and sounded strained, as though his temper was still boiling and he was holding onto it with an iron grip for if he didn’t, he would blow up like she had feared Death Mountain would at times while traversing the scalding depths of the sacred temple there. But just like she had braved, and tamed, the volcano, she was now going to have to brave Nabooru’s temper. She’d never been on the receiving end of that beast before, not when he was serious.

“Nabooru, please. Zelda’s trying,” she tried to calm the gerudo. “We’re all trying to sort things out after our home nearly faced destruction. He has done so much for Hyrule and all her peoples and his work is almost complete. He just needs a bit more time. Everyone needs a bit more time and then they’ll see. It’ll work out. He—”

“He isn’t infallible!” Nabooru yelled angrily, glare flying from the doorpost to attach itself to her. Link twitched but straightened her back. She couldn’t tell what would happen after this but something, a feeling or gut instinct, told her that this situation was as dangerous as any of the great, malicious entities that had corrupted the temples. That feeling she had acquired and nearly perfected in her fight to restore the temples and sages and kill Ganondorf; it’d never failed her. Nabooru was her ally though. They both needed to get out of this alive.

Steeling herself against that glare, she grabbed hold of the fist still pressed against the doorpost and quickly dragged Nabooru inside her room. Better there than out in the corridor. Although if the volume remained the same, it wouldn’t matter where they were but it just felt more private like this, like they were less likely to be jumped by a stalfos… or three. Yes, that was the feeling it reminded her of, wasn’t it?

“Nabooru, I can see how the wording is wrong and I understand your frustration but he’s trying. Zelda has done so much and is trying to do the best he can with what he’s been given. Things could have been different if—”

“Could have, would have, _should_ have!” Nabooru snarled and slammed the door shut behind them. Good to know he wasn’t completely lost to Din’s flame. “It didn’t happen and it was probably for the best but he isn’t beyond reproach!” the gerudo argued angrily as he began to pace the chamber.

“I agree that this isn’t the best way of handling the situation with his people and the Gerudo but what else can he do?” Link felt like she was repeating herself but whatever method got through to Nabooru and calmed him, she would use. “I couldn’t fix something like this,” she confessed, knowing it to be true. Talking had never been her strong suit. She had even preferred to play tricks on Mido and then engage in a, to the other kokiri, unknown bout of hide and seek. She knew and would gladly confess this as one of her major flaws. “He’s the best option we have for a peaceful solution.”

Nabooru whirled around and glared at her. “Stop putting so much importance in him!” he demanded angrily as he began stalking towards her. “What has he done that you cannot do? What has he done that you haven’t surpassed?” Link felt the words like a stab wound but they didn’t hurt like one, just frustrated her. It was an odd sensation. How could he not see what Zelda had done? She met Nabooru’s glare as he continued forward. “Can he even do half of all that you’ve done? You saved his whole bloody kingdom single-handedly! What did he do!?”

Nabooru was right in front of her now and Link raised her chin as much in defiant disagreement as to be able to maintain the eye contact. What more could she say to make Nabooru see how important Zelda was for Hyrule? He was needed! More so than her and especially now. “He—!”

Link’s stubborn protests were cut insultingly short as Nabooru suddenly grasped her shoulders and pulled her to him, covering her mouth with his. There was a force to the gesture but also a need, a pull that attached itself to her heart and tried to drag it up into her throat. The feeling burnt her insides with an almost too strong heat. Her stomach seemed to be attached by strings to her heart so that with every heave to dislodge her core and pull it up into her throat, her stomach jumped along with it. As the harsh press of lips finally ended, Nabooru slowly and almost regretfully pulling away, Link noticed she had grabbed hold of the sides of his coat, the silken material bunching in her hands. Nabooru’s arms had also moved, without her noticing it, to surround her in an embrace.

Silence descended upon a room that seemed to grow smaller with each passing second as neither of them moved or let go. Finally she found her voice, even if it was quiet and almost meek in its sound. Some small part of her prayed Nabooru wouldn’t remember that sound and tease her about it later. “…It wasn’t single-handedly,” she breathed and it felt like it should come out in a puff of hot air but the room was still at a comfortable heat, leaving the conclusion it was her body working on overdrive.

Nabooru closed his eyes and grit his teeth as he leaned his forehead almost heavily against hers. “Don’t make me push further,” he rasped out in a strained voice. Link would normally have replied or even nodded but did neither, just swallowed. No one moved and the silence deepened like the darkness outside the window. The air felt heavy, much like it had in the throne room but with an entirely different sort of weight. This pressure wasn’t distressing or frightening; it was as close as she could ever guess intoxicating would feel like with her limited experience of the word and the feeling behind it. It was odd, thrilling and slightly scary all at the same time. Glancing up without moving her head, she regarded Nabooru’s closed eyes until he felt her staring and opened them halfway to return the gaze. She wasn’t sure what expression was upon her face or in her eyes but there was a carefully held control in his as they simply stood there. The heat inside her system that had pulled on her heart and stomach like a skull that had gotten its flame doused and was jumping around, had begun to slowly ebb until he opened his eyes. Now it had begun to flow though, while the pressure in the air remained the same. If she read him correctly, she would guess Nabooru wanted or felt like he should move but after having separated their face by a few inches, he remained in place.

Her mouth felt horribly dry. Licking her lips to be able to speak, Link’s voice died in her throat as Nabooru’s eyes fell to regard the simple gesture. There was something in the way he watched her that made her want to see more of that look in his eyes and at the same time… maybe not. It looked like a dark light and it danced, flickering brighter every other heartbeat. She knew because she felt it. Or maybe that was her heart.

Moving her head the tiniest degree, Link stopped. Nabooru’s eyes were back on hers again and she couldn’t decide if the look in them was something like a wolfos lying deathly still in the tall grass, awaiting its prey, or if it was something far less dangerous. One thing she knew though; it was anticipation and it made her insides jump and the fire flare up with a vengeance. It also made her continue the slow climb of her chin. Dangerous or exciting, the only thing she was sure of was that she would continue lifting her face until…

Link’s lips brushed his again, hesitating a second before pushing through that last bit with more force, determination, and being met halfway. The crush of lips wasn’t as harsh this time but it put just as much fuel to the flame anyway. Nabooru’s arms slipped lower to curl around her waist, pulling her closer still. Link moved her arms up around Nabooru’s neck before they got trapped there and buried one hand in the thick, red ponytail dangling down his back while the other one grasped his neck. Her skin tingled where their bare skin met. Nabooru groaned in annoyance though and suddenly she was more level with his face. After the initial surprise died a quick death she could feel his hands on her hips, almost at the top of her thighs.

“You need to stop being so short,” the gerudo told her but silenced any comeback with another kiss. Wrapping her legs around his waist more on reflex than anything else, Link held on. The kiss didn’t last long. “Or maybe you shouldn’t grow much more,” Nabooru conceded with a short, strained chuckle as there now was a lot of skin-to-skin contact while both were still fully dressed. It was interesting to note the differences between the two even though it was becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate when Nabooru covered her lips with his and then even more so when he let them stray over her cheek to her ear. Where Link still had a certain softness to her form despite the muscles she had built during her adventures, Nabooru didn’t. And—

Link gasped, eyes widening, as Nabooru pulled very gently on one of the few frivolities she had allowed the Gerudo to convince her to adopt; a pair of small earrings halfway up her pointed tips. The action sent a frisson shooting from her ear over her scalp but it wasn’t unpleasant. Not in the least. An arm settled around her waist and pressed her flush against Nabooru while the gerudo’s other hand moved slightly down to be able to grip her upper thigh more firmly. “Before I drop you or something equally stupid,” he explained as he began to move. For some reason the destination didn’t matter much at the moment.

“You won’t,” Link insisted as she considered the likelihood of that happening. He was too strong and alert. It was why she never could beat him when he wasn’t mind-controlled. A low chuckle near her ear and a kiss upon the pointed lobe made her stomach jump and wonder if it would be the same for him. If she might feel his muscles jump as she was sure he did hers. Pressing just a little closer, she reached up and caught his lobe right between the two earrings he wore with her teeth. There was a miniscule stutter in Nabooru’s pace and his hands tightened on her.

“I will drop you,” he threatened in a low voice but it sounded very schizophrenic due to the underlying tones promising to do just that while he still held her tight. It caused a short giggle to escape Link before she could help herself. Her mirth caused Nabooru’s jaw to clench, something she noticed out of the corner of her eye, and then his balance suddenly shifted before the ceiling came into view. “Let go,” he told her with calm confidence.

“But…” Link hesitated. It was nice to be this close. She had hugged people before but it usually didn’t make her wish to hold on for this long. She twisted her head slightly and caught sight of two carved posts. He had bent over the bed and was dropping her off on it. Her muscles tightened slightly as she obstinately held on. Nabooru chuckled.

“You can cling to me later, promise,” he ensured her and Link finally relented, unhooking her legs and dropping the short distance to land on her back on the soft covers. Nabooru smiled at her but it didn’t last long as he leaned in and gave her another kiss and it was just like the first one; searing and making her insides all jump towards her throat. Her hands had only dropped halfway from the gerudo and instead attached themselves to his coat on either side of the standing collar. One of Nabooru’s hands remained propped up on the mattress but the other had settled on her hip, just where the sash began, and was now travelling up her bare skin. It left a tingling sensation in its wake, pushing the drape, or “coat”, from her bodice aside as it went. Then his hand hit the hem of the tiny bodice and it flowed up over her breast, eliciting a surprised gasp from Link. However, it turned into a moan when Nabooru gave a light squeeze before stroking his hand towards the side, dragging his thumb over the mound.

“You—!”

The harsh sound brought everything to a rather freezing halt as first Nabooru and then Link, slightly dazed, turned to look towards the door. Zelda stood in the open doorway, hand cramping on the handle and teeth grinding together. He seemed to be unable to get any sound past them and his gaze was ablaze. It seemed to radiate a heat far stronger than Din’s pearl even during the hottest hour of the summer out in Gerudo Valley. The sight sent Link’s heart shooting into her throat but for entirely different reasons this time.

“How dare you touch a Hylian woman, you thieving…?” Zelda hissed but seemed unable to find a word he thought appropriate to finish with. Link stared, unable to move, but could feel Nabooru tense. It was the only warning she got.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To set it straight, no, I'm not having Zelda be the bad or unreasonable person in this. Look at it from his side. He just came in on a scene that COULD be taken as Link trying to push Nabooru away. It's fair enough. Especially if he actually does like the Heroine of Time and coupled with Nabooru's outburst and, really, the whole evening. Everything is just circumstances and different points of view.
> 
> Passion is a word we so often now only connect to lust but it's so diverse. Hence, as this chapter had most if not all of the different nuances of passion, it became the leading word for it.
> 
> Edit: Holy fu-- >>; Thank you, Shinobipopcorn, for spotting my name hiccup. LOL


	9. Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes we ride out a storm... and sometimes it's just advised to run from it for hell hath no fury like some people.

“You filthy—!”

Zelda sprang forward and Nabooru backwards off the bed. More out of reflexes honed through too many battles than anything else, Link rolled backwards off the other side of the bed before it registered that Zelda was not an enemy. There was something in the air though that reminded her all too much of the intensity and nerves that danced around and inside her when fighting stalfos and the temple guardians of the Spirit Temple. She could almost hear the battle hum in the back of her head.

“Zelda, calm down,” Nabooru tried with a calm, reasonable voice but Link could tell there was the tiniest undertone of nerves in it too. Nabooru was nervous about something and that was never a good sign.

“Calm? You _dare_ speak to me?!” Zelda spat as he glared at the gerudo, utterly furious.

“It’s not what you think.” Nabooru gave it a second try to pacify the prince but the other man’s gaze hardened.

“Spare me your disgusting prevarication, you cursed filth! You’ll rot in a cell for this!”

Nabooru swallowed hard and cast a swift, sidelong glance at Link, which felt like some sort of signal but she couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it was he meant! Then he was suddenly moving with liquid speed and, with hands on the bed, jumped over the furniture to Link’s side. “Window!” he quickly shouted at her before he was beside her and had an arm around her waist. Link was off her feet before she had the time to turn fully towards the open window behind her.

“Window?!” she screeched at Nabooru before they were suddenly there and the gerudo jumped again, free hand on the windowsill and the other pulling Link along for the ride. Her heart jumped into her throat as air rushed into her face and she began fumbling for her hookshoot before realizing it wasn’t here. It was miles away in Gerudo Valley! And then Nabooru gave a harsh grunt of pain as he hit a slated roof only two meters below their exit. It was slanted, which sent them rushing downwards. Link screamed and cursed Nabooru for not letting her bring any of her weapons. The gerudo’s arm around her waist tightened, causing her to throw a glance at his face. His eyes were wide with adrenaline but also, justly so, fear as the edge of the roof came at them with murderous speed. This was wholly improvised and there were no safety nets, other plans or second attempts. There was also, however, a steely glint in Nabooru’s eyes and a set to his jaw that promised they would make it because nothing else was acceptable of two warriors of their caliber. It made Link grab hold of his shoulders and prepare for a rough landing, whether it consisted of rolling or just minimizing falling damage once they reached the ground. He hadn’t jumped out that window with suicide in mind, her mind reasoned, so they would make it. She just had to be prepared to act at a moment’s notice. She could do that. It’s what she had done all the time for the last year.

The ride ended in a drop and a roll down upon another slanted roof before finally depositing them, a little worse for wear, on the courtyard. Link stood on shaky legs and dragged Nabooru to his feet. He had taken most of the burnt from both falls, whether it was his feet or side that had hit first, and he looked a bit roughed up. “The stables,” she supplied as she hurriedly set them going again. The long, low building in question was just across the courtyard and well within reach. The thought that it was odd that they were fleeing Hyrule Castle as though it belonged to Ganondorf once more, and after having been invited too, flew rapidly through her mind but didn’t stay. They could sort this out later when it didn’t feel like Zelda was about to put a sword through Nabooru’s gut. It seemed like an unthinkable thing, Zelda actually killing someone in burning fury, but that fire in his eyes had been murderous. No, they couldn’t sort this out now. Maybe if they had had some of the goddess spells Link had been gifted with in her travels by the Great Fairies, like Nayru’s Love, they could buy enough time to talk to Zelda without anyone coming to harm. But, again, she didn’t have those with her. Damn it! Why did she need her gear now when three whole months had told her it was unnecessary weight?

“Guard!” Nabooru’s hiss brought Link out of her inner criticism to follow where he was glancing. There was indeed a guard standing by the closed gates leading to the castle grounds. _Crap!_ she thought. Had he come out of the nearby gate house due to the ruckus their escape from the second story window? How were they going to get passed him? “Horses or him. Choose,” Nabooru hurriedly demanded and Link turned to stare at him. What did he…? “Quick!”

At Nabooru’s worried look, Link jumped and threw out the first thing that came to mind. “Him!” Nabooru nodded and turned his attention onto the stables again. Link had a second to realize she had just chosen to try and fool a royal guard into opening the castle gates. That had gone sooo fantastic the last few times she tried when ten! As she turned off towards the man in armor, she racked her brains for something she could use. The Gerudo had sent a message, needing them back? How? No messenger had passed the gates. Bird? Maybe the truth? How much though?

And then she was out of time.

Arriving by the gates, she slowed when there only were a few steps left and took a moment to catch her breath, trying to think. “Miss?”

She blinked hard as she looked up at the guard where she stood, leaning on her knees for support as she gulped in air. She wasn’t out of shape but she didn’t make it a habit of dropping down several stories on buildings every day. Her appearance might also have been why the guard sounded slightly concerned, she realized a heartbeat later. Hoping that was it, she gave him a breathless smile. “W-we… There was a slight instance,” she gasped as her mind raced. “The nobles… didn’t like us—a gerudo in their midst. Took offense. We were told to leave quickly before something happened.” It wasn’t a complete lie but she didn’t like it. She never thought she would have to lie. She had rarely done it before. To be fair, she had had moments where she hadn’t been entirely forthcoming or honest. Her first meeting with Nabooru had been one of those. Seeing the bloody temple indeed! What kid of ten went out into a haunted desert to view a temple?! And alone art that! Nabooru must have known she hadn’t told him the whole truth. He had had a rather amused smile and odd light in his eyes that time… almost as though he had been trying to hold back laughter, if she wasn’t wrong.

The guard, however, was looking a tad more concerned now but nodding carefully. “His highness?”

“Knows,” Link confirmed as she straightened up with a nod of her own. “It was prince Zelda who made us aware of the feelings.” Now that was so close to the truth it almost wasn’t funny.

“Dissent is to be expected, miss,” the guard agreed and gave a nod as his eyes traveled to something behind Link. “I’ll get the gate open,” he continued as Link turned to see Nabooru jogging towards them with their horses. He had foregone the saddles but thrown on the hackamores at least. Link was glad they were taking the horses and not because it was the fastest way to get out of there. She just couldn’t stand the thought of leaving Epona behind. She didn’t think she would be able to repeat the stunt at Lon lon Ranch at Hyrule Castle after all.

When they were both on their respective animal’s back, the gate was open and they set off without another word. Link did throw her head over her shoulder to wave at the guard. They didn’t need to leave _and_ make everyone in the castle upset. There was the nagging feeling that Zelda was angrier with Nabooru than anyone else but about what, she couldn’t say. It didn’t seem to be the outburst and accusation in the throne room at least. Whatever it was though, she felt it was good to have it clear that she left of her own free will.

“What did you say?” Nabooru wondered as soon as Link turned back around.

“I told him some nobles took offense to you being there.” The gerudo snorted at her answer but nodded. Whether he thought it amusing or a severe understatement, she couldn’t tell.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the gate for the castle grounds where they had to pull up for a halt. “Open up the gates. We’ve been requested to leave,” Nabooru demanded with calm authority. The guard on the inside of the gate arched a brow at the gerudo, an action almost invisible under his helmet.

“The oath ceremony isn’t until tomorrow,” the Hylian countered without moving an inch. Nabooru didn’t look perturbed but simply regarded the man with a slight air of disdain.

“It’s been delayed. Some nobles weren’t ready to come face to face with a gerudo,” Nabooru replied and Link understood why he had asked. It was better to keep to the same story with all the guards for even if it was unlikely there was the tiniest off chance to buy them some time in the long run.

“Can you blame them?” the guard challenged and still refused to move. This was making Link nervous. It wouldn’t matter however much time their story and its consistency bought them if they never got to leave Castle Town, much less the castle! The urge to glance over her shoulder to see if anyone was exiting the castle to follow them was great.

“There’s been a royal request for us to leave and take up the oath ceremony at a later date. Do you wish to gainsay your next king so close to his coronation?” Nabooru ended with a tiny but definitely evil smile, eyes promising to tell said soon-to-be ruler about any problem-monger. The guard stiffened and glared at him before throwing a bark over his shoulder to the guards above to open the gate. When the gates were fully open, something Nabooru made them patiently wait for as though they probably weren’t being chased by the whole royal guard as soon as Zelda got them out into the courtyard, the gerudo gave the guard a pleasant smile before kicking his horse into a measured canter. Link quickly followed the white steed, biting the inside of her cheek to refrain from casting a worried glance at either the gate guards or the castle.

When they reached the curve in the road and finally the mouth of Castle Town’s royal district, Nabooru urged his horse into a sharper pace. He didn’t care if they woke anyone up. If the castle guard were about to give chase, the citizen would be woken up anyway, no matter how many had returned to the recently revived capital or not. It was only when they neared the town drawbridge that Link remembered; they closed that one even before Ganondorf took over. Would they leave it open now just on principle or to show they weren’t afraid? Somehow Link doubted that.

The draw bridge was, indeed, shut tight. However, at the strident clatter of hooves echoing up and down the cobbled path, a gate guard came out of an adjacent building. Link noted that it wasn’t the same as the guy with a poe fetish had resided in. It didn’t appear to have had any restoration work done to it, making her wonder if it was permanently haunted or something of the like. The new man for the position of entrance guard didn’t look too happy about the noise, not even after Nabooru repeated the same story as last time.

“At this hour, Sage?” Despite the courtesy he gave by giving Nabooru his title so were his eyes a tad too dubious for Link’s comfort. Nabooru seemed to be of the same mind as irritation started to creep into his demeanor. His patience was dying and this time it wasn’t because of Link.

“Yes, at this ungodly hour,” he snapped and Link hoped the guard thought the tone was due to being forced to leave in the middle of the night. And while wearing their finery, Link realized with a start as the guard’s eyes passed over her! Of _course_ they caused suspicion. She tried hard not to fidget. “Believe me, I’m rather annoyed myself and my people won’t be happy at this delay either so not only will I have to deal with rearranging this mess but also talk to them. Now, I would be very grateful if you could make my night a tiny bit easier by letting us pass quickly,” the gerudo bit out with an almost savage undertone. If Link had learnt to read Nabooru in the least then the hard grip he had on his reins was to prevent him from doing anything threatening, or even grabbing the guard’s spear, and forcing their way through the last obstacle. Link couldn’t prevent the harsh swallow of nerves before the guard nodded at last. He did look slightly taken aback though and it made her leery too.

As the guard moved back towards the gate house, walking somewhat sideways so that he never truly turned his back upon them despite them obviously being unarmed, Link cast him a wan smile. “Forgive us, but this was a most unexpected outcome,” she said in attempt to smooth over Nabooru’s aggressive attack. The man gave her a quick smile before disappearing into the house at last to activate the gate pulleys.

“Not for me,” Nabooru growled darkly but it was low enough that the guard didn’t hear it. Link cast the gerudo a wary look though. Nabooru glared back but it was a short look and it ended in a snort. They both knew it wasn’t her he was angry with. Link did want to know, though, why Nabooru had pushed like that when he wanted this assurance for his people as much as Zelda did. She knew his wish for it hadn’t been pretense, was dead sure of it, so why had he lost his temper so badly? Would it really have put the Gerudo in such a low position compared to the Hylians? Nabooru’s words about the purple dye, the lie that surrounded its origin and what would most likely happen in the end if the truth was known, came back to her. Maybe, yes. But maybe… No, she _had_ to speak to Nabooru about this again and this time not focus on Zelda. She hadn’t grown up with the Gerudo, she didn’t know them that well. She was _coming_ to know them better but in no way did she know all about them or how it was to truly be one of them. That took time. A split second passed before revelation hit her. She had just spent months in the Gerudo’s company and at least one month and then some in Nabooru’s presence personally. She knew and understood the man to a fair degree but… how well did she truly know Zelda? For the time she had spent in his company, she knew the prince rather well but when compared to Nabooru? Hardly at all.

As soon as the draw bridge was a scant meter from touching down, Nabooru set their horses to an impatient gallop, forcing Link to abandon her inner examination. They took the remaining half meter drop at a jump and thundered off towards the west, Nabooru’s face still looking like a thundercloud from the delay. He looked, Link thought, like he needed to stab something but for the want of a blade he instead pressed their pace, a pace that made superfluous thought and conversation impossible. For now, she would have to lay her questions for the man to one side. It didn’t take long for Link to realize, though, that Nabooru wasn’t about to slow down anytime soon either.

“Nabooru!” she had to raise her voice against the rush wind, “this pace isn’t tenable for the horses! Not all the way to the Valley.”

“It most certainly is,” he snarled back but Link refused to be cowed.

“You know it isn’t!”

“Actually, I happen to know that it is but only the best steeds can perform the feat and still stand at the end of the ride,” Nabooru informed her tersely but then turned his head to face her at last as they were almost abreast. “And it’s necessary. We need to, _must_ , reach the Valley without delay. We ride all night, keeping this pace, and we will. And if anyone does catch up to us…” he trailed off and cast a quick glance forward to make sure the road ahead was still clear but he was reluctant as he turned his attention back to her. “Then you need to push Epona harder and go on ahead.” Link froze in her seat but the speed they were going at quickly unbalanced her and she was jarred out of incredulous stare at Nabooru. “Simply tell Aveil “bridge” and “haven”. He’ll know what needs to be done.”

Link had recovered enough to voice a protest. “What are you talking about?! I wouldn’t leave you behind!”

Nabooru’s eyes were serious. “Yes, you will because I need you to and it’s an order. You’re one of my elite warriors; you’ll do as I say in this. Besides,” his voice lightened and he gave her a wry smile, a rueful light tainting his eyes that was only just visible in the gloom, “you’re lighter than I. Your horse will be able to continue for longer at this pace than mine.” She didn’t have any protest that would win against that argument so she turned her attention to the road ahead instead and prayed any pursuers they had didn’t catch them. Confound this mess!

*******

They arrived back at the mouth of Gerudo Valley as the horizon began to gray. Over the last few hours the pace had ever so slowly but surely began to drop. While their horses had still gone at it murderously fast, each tiny drop had felt ten times slower as they neared their goal but it still seemed so far. They held an almost leisurely canter when they crossed the bridge over the ravine, the harsh hoof beats calling the guard out of the tent. Link felt bad for the horses because she could tell they were going on their last reserves. Their riders weren’t much better off either, but she would live, as would Nabooru. Link gave Epona an encouraging pat on the neck and promised him “soon”. There would be rest soon. At least she hoped so…

“Keep on high alert! Move further down the mouth and let none pass. If there’s more than a few, the bridge is your priority!” Nabooru yelled to the guard in the passing who had no time but to nod. Again with the ambiguous order concerning the bridge. Link didn’t have time to consider what they might mean though, because they had arrived in the village and Nabooru seemed intent on waking half the place. “Aveil?! Get me Aveil! I want everyone up and I wanted it hours ago!” he shouted and it sounded angry. The only reason Link knew he wasn’t was because she could see it in his eyes, even if it was a feeling she had rarely witnessed in him. No, Nabooru was angry; he was worried. That and maybe a touch stressed, she added as they came to a screeching halt almost in front of the small horse grooming enclosure. One of the few night guards had already disappeared into the fortress itself to hunt down the second in command but Nabooru didn’t waste any time.

“I want extra guards at the bridge right away,” he ordered as he grabbed the first guard who had reached them. “Elite warriors only, at least eight of them. If there aren’t enough awake then send what you got and rush the rest out of bed.” Another guard was snagged and sent to get the horse master on his feet. Link made herself useful by grabbing their horses and leading them into the tiny corral. It didn’t take long for Aveil to come running out of the fortress. It was obviously that he had rushed because he was tying the sash for his trousers as he came out, the legs were loose around his ankles and he wore no shoes. “Negotiations with the Hylians broke down.” Nabooru sounded both bitter and disgusted at the same time, Link thought as she began to remove the hackamores. At last she, and her rear, had a second to mourn the loss of Epona’s saddle.

Aveil nodded somberly but on the overall he seemed unperturbed. Link wasn’t close enough to take a guess at anything else. She had spent a lot of time in Aveil’s company before Nabooru came back but he was also a bit harder to read than Spirit Sage. Or maybe it was just that Nabooru’s personality matched hers better, making him easier to understand.

“Make preparations for a journey to Haven,” Nabooru continued without slowing down despite now standing still as more gerudo began to wake up and come out to see what the commotion was about. “I want those who can’t fight ready for travel at moment’s notice.”

“And?” Aveil asked as he tilted his head slightly to the side. Nabooru’s expression darkened.

“And set up the bridge escape,” his eyes darkened as he replied but didn’t seem pleased about the answer he had to give. It made Link wonder what exactly was so bad about this specific extra precaution or escape route. Had she been mistaken when she assessed the Valley as having only two points of entry and exit?

“You need to rest,” Aveil added but cast a very swift glance Link’s way, including her in the recommendation. Nabooru made a face but the reluctance in his stance said he knew the truth of that statement.

“Y’ should sleep. We’ll take care o’ the rest.” It was one of the older gerudo who spoke and while his age spoke for him, he still wore the fire opal of the elite warriors. If Link hazarded a guess, she would say he had to be at least a decade or two older than Sen, the horse master.

“No,” Nabooru stated, annoyed, impatient and almost rude as gave the elder a short glare. “You’ll prepare for the journey to the Shrine, Harooh, and that’ll be _it_ ,” Nabooru stated harshly but the drain from their wild ride was beginning to pull on him. It had the unfortunate effect of making the leader both tired, physically, and easily aggravated, something that was noticeable in the way he held his shoulders.

“Y’ need yer warriors,” the older man argued as Aveil moved towards him to lead him back inside the fortress before Nabooru lost the already short fuse to his bombflower. Harooh wasn’t unfit, Link could tell, but he was aging. “An’ if the Hylians—”

“It isn’t confirmed yet that they’re on the move,” Aveil interrupted him, grasping the elder’s elbow and began to turn him towards the fortress.

“It’s a question of arrival time,” Nabooru growled tiredly as he massaged one temple. He didn’t allow Harooh time to point out that he had just agreed with the older gerudo though. “Your time on the front lines is over, Harooh, no matter your skill or power. Help with the preparations instead. Aveil,” Nabooru switched targets in the blink of an eye, deeming the argument finished despite the elder’s stubborn face. The second in command gave Nabooru his full attention as the taller man began to tromp towards the door closest to his quarters. “You’re in charge while I rest for a bit. _If_ the Hylians approach, wake me. But if they come in numbers we can’t contain,” he warned and the look he gave Aveil was hard with unspoken things, “don’t wait for me.” Aveil gave a single nod before moving with purpose, escorting the elder back inside. After all, the dismissal had been clear.

“You, too. Come on.” Nabooru’s words caused Link to jump and then turn to him. He was a dozen steps away but had paused in his stride. “You need to rest, too, at least for a while,” he said with a wave of his hand at her. Link hurriedly climbed over the fence of the corral even though her legs had begun screaming at her now that her muscles had time to relax and jogged up to Nabooru. She knew, without checking, that the horses would soon be seen to by Sen. For the moment, they seemed to have simply ignored everything else and gone to sleep where they stood like horses always did. “Or however long we now are given.” Link almost missed Nabooru’s muttered addendum but he wasn’t far enough away, despite having started towards the door again.

“I… Nabooru, I’m sorry!” she gasped out as she had nearly caught up with him. “This is my fault—”

The gerudo came to such a screeching halt that she almost ran into him. Turning around, Nabooru stared at her for a heartbeat before grabbing hold of her wrist and dragging her along behind him. Moving swiftly through corridors that had yet to properly fill with the sound of many people rising at once, they arrived at Nabooru’s chambers. Dragging Link inside, he only let go of her once they were almost in the middle of the large room and then only to turn on his heel and go back to close the door. Nabooru didn’t really leave much room to argue but Link decided it wouldn’t stop her from trying.

“This wouldn’t be happening—”

“How do you reckon that?” he demanded as he almost stomped back to her but passed her to begin shutting out the daylight that would soon fill the second story room.

“If I hadn’t been there—”

“Then it would all have fallen apart in the throne room instead,” Nabooru interrupted her again, dismissing her explanation with a harsh swipe of his hand.

“Zelda wouldn’t have been that angry,” she countered even as she wasn’t entirely sure why Zelda had reacted to the degree that he had. Looking back at it, Zelda’s reaction seemed almost over the top and… uncalled for? Was that it? Maybe it was more along the lines of unwarranted. For some reason she couldn’t immediately put her finger on, it felt like that may not always have been the case. Had something changed over the months they had been apart? Or maybe it was just something she had grown to understand recently? Or was maybe still learning? She wasn’t sure. If she had a moment to consider it in peace, she may figure it out but time was apparently not on their side this time.

“What would have happened,” Nabooru unwittingly called her attention back to himself again, “is that it would have escalated in the throne room and depending on how much, the oath ceremony would have been delayed or not happened at all. I and whoever I might have brought could possibly not have left either or for a long time at least,” Nabooru declared as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaning against a wall beside the window he had just barred.

“You don’t know that,” Link challenged mildly, shaking her head. Nabooru snorted but then added on a verbal denial of that statement too.

“It was the most likely outcome if anything. Whether you had been there or not, whether we would have ended up on the bed with Zelda walking in or not so would I still have told him what I thought after his statement about where we stood. Do you truly believe that Hyrule doesn’t blame the whole Gerudo tribe for Ganondorf’s actions? Do you truly think their view of us would change after her death? To not take retribution on us all but rather demand a show of humility from us is not a concession. It’s an insult. I am a Sage and without me, it wouldn’t have been possible to put the Sacred Realm back to rights. You wouldn’t even have been able to get into Ganondorf’s lair without my aid, but do they care for that now when all is said and done? No, they don’t, because they don’t want to. It conflicts with their previous opinion of us so they would rather ignore one in favor of the other. Less brain hemorrhaging when they try to wrap their minds around the concept that the Gerudo aren’t as evil and twisted by greed as the person who attacked their royal family was!” Here Nabooru took a few moments to calm down before he continued. Link didn’t take the opportunity to argue any of his points. She needed to hear more in detail, and while Nabooru was fairly calm, why the visit to Hyrule Castle had gone as it did.

“So, no. It wasn’t your fault. It was, in a sense, inevitable, I guess.”

“If so, then why did you go there?” she wondered. Nabooru gave her a wry, rueful smile.

“Because there was the tiniest amount of hope that it would turn out differently, that my call for respect and recognition would be heard. I aided you in setting the Sacred Realm to rights and in reaching Zelda and Ganondorf. I aided in the saving of Hyrule. I am the leader of my people. I wasn’t demanding they think of all of the Gerudo with desert roses and sweet rain right away. I wanted the recognition that they would trust me to keep my people at peace as Zelda would keep his and for that… I needed to be given a little more respect than a vanquished or subservient enemy. Mostly because I was never their enemy to begin with,” he stated the last bit harshly as his eyes grew hard as well. And it was true, Link remembered, even seven years ago Nabooru had been against Ganondorf. The gerudo’s glare was set on her but it wasn’t _for_ her and Link knew that. She could also see, and fully understand, why he had done as he had done in Hyrule Castle. Was it similar to her conversation with Zelda all those months ago, in the Temple of Time? The prince hadn’t listened to her either then, not truly. Yes, she could understand Nabooru’s actions quite well when he explained them. She could even relate.

“You don’t think it could have been different if I hadn’t prevented these seven years from—?”

“No.” Nabooru swiftly and somewhat harshly stopped her before she finished, adding on a pointed shake of his head. “Maybe it would have been slightly different, maybe not. That is not the point though. Time flows in one direction and one alone; forward. We don’t undo pieces and chunks of it to suit us.” Hadn’t Sheik once said the very same thing? Time was like a river that flowed ever onwards. Link had never understood if Zelda had called down the spirit of a long dead sheikah or if it actually was he, disguised. Sheik had always been… slightly different. Similar, yes, but not the same, much like siblings. But then, Sheik had spoken about time in many different ways. Link felt, though, that it had always seemed like that one statement was an unshakeable truth for the skilled shadow. Time didn’t go backwards, it went inexplicably and incorrigibly forward and forward alone. You just had to make the best of the places you ended up while following the current. She may have gone back and forth but then, could she be thought of as truly belonging to the flow of time until recently? She could just have visited all the temples as she went and maybe that would have caused the whole journey to take longer but it would still have gotten done.

“Don’t think about what could have been in another time.” Nabooru’s words brought Link’s attention back to him again. “Live in the now because it’s all we have. We have chosen our path and now we reap what we sowed, so to speak,” he told her with a somewhat amused, lopsided smile. He almost seemed to be laughing silently at himself. “If anything, you being there made it easier, gave me an extra big chance of getting away if trouble arose… which it did,” he added on with a nod at her. “So… thank you actually.”

Link blinked at him with wide eyes. He saw it like that? Well… she could see _why_ if you said that their visit to Hyrule Castle and his explosion was inevitable but still… Tilting her head to one side, Link regarded the man for a moment, a small smile settling on her lips even as her brows dipped in a frown. What did one say to that? “You’re welcome… I think.”

Nabooru smiled tiredly at her, causing Link’s own smile to grow and features to smoothen out. A silent second passed before the gerudo rolled his shoulders and pushed away from the wall. He cleared his throat and dropped his arms to his sides, but didn’t move beyond that. “Go to bed now or neither of us will catch any sleep.” Link frowned but didn’t get a chance to speak. “We might need to get up at a moment’s notice,” Nabooru added but Link felt there was something else to that statement beside the explanation just given. He was right, of course, but still…

She let it go for now in favor of, hopefully, some hours of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story started out as a Link/Zelda story but then the scenes between Link and Nabooru developed and I got awfully attached. Then I had some time to wonder which of the two I would choose to focus on; Zelda or Nabooru. Originally, when Zelda was the focus, this story was probably half as long and the scene in the throne room was very different and much longer because their stay was to the ceremony and beyond. Obviously, my attachment to Link and Nabooru's chemistry was too strong in the end. Then again, there are more Link/Zelda fics out there than Link/Nabooru, so, why not?
> 
> This is the last chapter I have completed for now. See you asap!


	10. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You should always prepare for the worst but hope for the best in both life and strife”, that’s what Aveil told Link when she woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay. Some busy times, work and, yay! I'm moving back to London!  
> No art this time. Just a chapter. Hopefully it's good enough. It's the second to last one!

The morning had been busy and hectic but even that felt a bit like an understatement. Link had been allowed some five hours of sleep, she was sure, but it’d been enough. At times, she’d had worse sleeping patterns, not to talk about worse places to sleep and more adrenaline pumping through to wake her up at the slightest noise. The Shadow Temple was one of those instances. She shuddered despite the heat of the late morning sun. Nabooru was out on the front court, throwing orders left and right while checking the progress on the loading of something onto a small cart that could be tied to a horse. It made her wonder if he’d slept at all and if so, how much?

Aveil was flanking the Gerudo leader but it was only the second time she’d seen him today. The first time had been shortly after she woke up when the second-in-command had given her a task as well as a bread roll with cheese. Breakfast on the go, as Aveil had said. He knew very well that only half-assed work was done on an empty stomach. It did make her wonder if Aveil had managed to force some food on Nabooru this morning or not, because he was sounding mighty tetchy and she wasn’t even close to them yet.

“Set half of the mats at the bottom and cover the top with the other half. Aveil, give me a status report! It might not get windy but I’d rather not see everything covered in a ton of sand.” Nabooru never paused to look at his second when addressing him rather than the Gerudo he was directing but it wasn’t necessary. Even Link could hear him meters away.

“There are some preparations left to do, some goods left to pack,” Aveil answered calmly but with the tiniest hint of wariness in his voice. Probably because he was anticipating the act of Nabooru snapping his head around to glare at the other man.

“Why, by all blackened and lost souls, not? What’s taking so long?” Nabooru demanded through clenched teeth, which was most likely because he was trying not to curse even more than that. Link understood why; he could ill afford to lose his temper completely now. Raging was a pointless action that would steal precious minutes from them. Aveil didn’t falter at the scorching glare that seemed to be in a contest with the ever hotter sun above.

“The preparations for Din’s festival.”

Nabooru stared at him. “Preparations…” Nabooru’s voice had dropped in amazement but quickly regained its previous power. Likewise, the glare from before was lost for a second before it, too, blazed to life again, battling for space with the newborn incredulity. “Are you serious, fortress commander?” Nabooru turned fully to Aveil who didn’t back up or even flinch, just met the other’s gaze with more calm than, Link assumed, anyone else at the fortress would have been able to summon up. “You’re making preparations _now_?”

“We’ll hold it out at the temple,” Aveil explained, probably having already anticipated the reply. “It’ll also be good for the mood in general,” he added on in a lower voice that Link almost missed where she’d stopped a few steps behind the man. Nabooru made a face, as though he already knew the reason and couldn’t argue with it, which probably was true, then heaved an angry sigh.

“Fine.” He gave a curt wave of a hand. “But if it isn’t done by noon, you’re leaving anyway, good for morale or no,” he finished before turning and stomping away. Link silently slid up to Aveil’s side.

“You can’t manage that timeframe,” she said what the Gerudo probably already knew. Aveil nodded nonetheless.

“Don’t let it bother you,” he told her without taking his eyes of their leader. “We wouldn’t be ready to leave at noon even if we hadn’t done any of the preparations. Nabooru knows this and it worries him, thus he gets annoyed.” Aveil turned his head and met the Hylian’s gaze. “Especially since the bridge is still open, leaving us vulnerable.” Link nodded and opened her mouth—

“Link!” They both jumped slightly at the sudden, and irate, shout. “Hurry up!” Nabooru threw at them before turning and continuing his hurried pace, having stopped for just a few seconds to yell at her. Aveil gave her an apologetic, lopsided smile and a one-shouldered shrug. Link gave the man a nod before quickly moving to catch up with the small storm cloud moving through the front court of the Gerudo Fortress.

“I apologize,” Link said as caught up to the man, falling in stride with him but half a step behind. She knew enough to leave him some space. “What do you need me to—”

“I would ask why you’re still unarmed, warrior, but I’ll spare both of us,” he cut her off without fanfare and a storm still brewing on his visage. “If you won’t carry your blasted sword, then go to the smithy and strap on a scimitar.”

He was using her official position within the tribe, just as he had with Aveil, something he rarely did, and it made Link bite the inside of her bottom lip. He was right and this was a serious situation. It’d just been so long since she’d had to strap it on, _needed_ it, that it’d completely slipped her mind now. Was she getting rusty or just comfortable? “I’m sorry,” she replied honestly.

“Should an elite warrior ever go without a blade?” Nabooru snapped at her without pause or turning.

Link swallowed. “No, leader.”

A second passed before a heavy sigh left the man walking half a step in front of her and then he abruptly came to a halt. She almost crashed into his arm but managed to dodge at the last moment. He was rubbing his forehead and one temple with a hand when she came around to stand before him. “I apologize. I’m taking out my frustrations on one of the persons I’m the least interested in taking them out on.” He sounded tired, she noted. It brought back the question of whether or not he had slept at all. Link was beginning to lean towards “no”.

“I understand why you’re annoyed.” When Nabooru dropped his hand, meeting her gaze, she quickly continued before he had the chance to reply. She could guess his words anyway. “I’ll go strap on the Master Sword right away.” Nabooru hesitated for a second, caught mid-motion while lowering his hand to his side. Link gave him a confident smile. “It’s my blade and, moreover, it’s a good blade. It should be used.” It was about time she used it again. It wasn’t like she wasn’t still her. She’d been born to wield it and while the occasion for which it was needed was over, she could still wield it. Maybe she’d just needed some time away from it to realize that, to accept the new path her life had taken after her duty to the world was done. She wasn’t unworthy of the blade. It had just served the purpose for which it was called. Maybe, some day, she would set it to rest somewhere. Somewhere where it wouldn’t turn back the time on her.

Nabooru gave her a nod and a small smile. He seemed calmer now, too, she noticed. There was one thing she needed to ask before she left though. “Before I go… Your clothes.”

Nabooru blinked once at her then cast a look at himself and the sturdy trousers and vest. For some reason he was still wearing that fancy, sleeveless coat from the day before, too. On one hand, it didn’t go with the rest of his outfit but on the other hand, it made it look more official. “I’m the leader of the Gerudo; black and white are my colors.”

“I know that, but why are you _all_ white today?” He usually didn’t wear block colors like that.

There was a pause from Nabooru before he answered her. “It’s the color of the caretaker of the Goddess shrine,” he told her simply but there was a very sure calm, like a stone in the forest; not too hot or too cold, assured of its place and determined to remain there no matter who or what brought challenge. Something about that calm determination was unsettling though.

“You’re not… about to leave for the temple, are you?” she asked him, successfully keeping the hint of apprehension at bay. If Nabooru left for the Spirit Temple now, of all moments to go, there was a reason and it could only be bad.

Nabooru shook his head and gave a hint of a smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. “No, I’m not,” he said before starting up and walking passed her. Link frowned at the space where the Gerudo had stood. That answer wasn’t as reassuring as a denial should have been. Nabooru leaving also cut the opportunity for further questions short but he had the right of it; they didn’t have time to stand there and chat. Annoying as it may be, she’d have to leave it at that for now and trust that he knew what he was doing. Not knowing every in and out of a situation was not something she enjoyed though.

Link took off at a jog towards her chamber. If something was about to go down soon then she wanted to be prepared, especially if there was something in her arsenal other than the Master Sword that could be of use. And speaking of the blade… Once she reached her room, she took it down from where the scabbard hung on the weapon rack. Holding the painted and gilt piece for a moment, she drew forth the blade and dropped its sheath on the rumpled bed. She hadn’t bothered to make it this morning, it’d been deemed a waste of time.

Holding the ancient but still remarkably good blade again made the time where all this began come flooding back to her; the reason she had been able to meet Nabooru in the past. What a pair they had made. She snorted in gentle amusement at the picture now; a foolhardy teenager in a desert temple, meeting another, even more foolhardy, child that had trekked out into a haunted wasteland. They certainly were the odd ones out. And then he had gone and made a deal with her to get the holy treasure of the temple and crawl through it like a common thief… and she’d done it, too! She’d done a lot of things by then but nothing quite like that. And then the words he’d spoken to her as he was taken… He’d get back. He’d find her and they’d finish their deal. Those witches couldn’t hold him! He’d been wrong on that point, of course, point but he’d come out stronger for it, better, she guessed. At least that’s what he’d told her.

A noise of someone passing in the hall outside broke the spell, causing her to quickly sheathe the sword and find the harness for it. She considered just tying it to the belt of her red elite warrior’s uniform for a moment but scrapped the idea quickly. She was used to the over-the-shoulder draw and whether or not she took the Hylian shield with her now or not, it was probably better to rely on what you knew when facing the unknown. Old habits and reflexes would save her life before anything else and there was no time to relearn anything now. Strapping it on, taking care to settle it so that neither harness nor scabbard would chafe against bare skin that had previously always been covered by bulky tunics, she hurried out to give a hand wherever she may be needed. It was an odd yet comfortably familiar feeling to have the sword at her back once again. She felt lighter than normal with barely anything of what she usually wore in combination with the Master Sword and could see the reason why the Gerudo warriors favored dual blades. With little to no protection, and certainly no shield, the greater offensive, and ability to block, that two swords gave the wielder was not only understandable but also preferable. Maybe she would look into having a copy made later. That, or just pick up a matching pair of scimitar and take it from there. The Master Sword was old and familiar but it was also not as necessary now. It _had_ played its part in more ways than one.

*******

Preparations had been ongoing all day and now the sunset was casting its rays over the valley. They were almost done with everything. It was a relief. Link smiled at the scene that filled the front court. Every inhabitant of Gerudo Fortress, even some of the animals and a great amount of the horses, were gathered there. They were pretty much done—

“Incoming!” She wasn’t the only one to feel her body and heart freeze for a beat, Link was sure. Almost every head seemed to turn towards the entrance as one to stare at the elite warrior swiftly moving up the incline on his horse. Link licked her lips. They were out of time? Had Zelda really gone and pulled out the meager offensive that Hyrule had manage to recreate during her short time in recovery?

“There’s a force closing in on the mouth of the ravine!” The words chilled the blood in her body but made her muscles hum as energy began to rapidly pool there, awaiting release, action, anything! She knew the feeling. It had visited upon her many times but had featured most prominently when facing off with the great darknesses tainting the temples across Royal Hyrule. Taking a steadying breath, Link felt her blood begin to flow again. It flowed normally now but would soon begin to rush and churn, like the water down in the ravine river as it raced from one waterfall to the next; reined in power awaiting release.

“Size?” Nabooru demanded steadily but loud enough to be heard over the murmur in the front court as he emerged from the fortress. He must have already been on his way, Link realized. He was strapping his second scimitar to his belt after all. He hadn’t worn those all day. Last preparations, she somberly noted.

“Half of a hundred or so, mostly on horseback, but there’s no telling if there’s more just beyond the base of the entrance,” the warrior replied grimly.

_Of course_ , Link thought, _the entrance to the ravine from the fields is a choke point, what with those cliffs, but they also hide any numbers waiting beyond._ It was disturbing to try and think up a good strategy for a battle that would be against the very people she’d so far been trying to save. She hoped it didn’t come to that. It wasn’t a test she was interested in taking for it had no right answer, only consequences. Goddesses condemn it!

Whatever happened next, some practical part of her brain piped in, at least she wasn’t wearing any cumbersome amount of equipment or jewelry so she’d be extremely light on her feet. The only piece of excess that, according to the Gerudo wasn’t excess, was the fire opal on her forehead, the one that denoted her as an elite warrior as much as her red garb. She’d foregone the gold and bejeweled hair clasp from yesterday, a piece that was similar, if not more detailed, to the ones that many of the tribe wore as an everyday accessory. _I guess it’s portable wealth in situations like these_ , she noted morbidly. Her hair was tied in the high ponytail of the warriors with a simple leather cord. No one raised an eyebrow anymore at her less ostentatious, or at least expensive, way to dress or decorate herself. Although they’d always shown appreciation for every piece of jewelry, however small, she’d adopted as time among them wore on. Link guessed she was becoming more like them as the months passed by.

Nabooru had arrived by her side by now and his expression wasn’t happy as he regarded the messenger. “All elite warriors and half the guard force; move out!” Someone must already have decided who was going where because the purple uniforms divided up neatly and efficiently before the small block of red and purple settled into a rectangle by the entrance arch. Nabooru didn’t have to give Link any sign, she began walking as he set off. Aveil swiftly disengaged from the mass of villagers and strode up to the leader. Nabooru pulled off ruby attached to his chest, the one that symbolized the caretaker, the resin making only a tiny noise of resistance at the action. It meant he either hadn’t applied much or applied it well, Link realized. He’d planned for the jewel to come off easily at some point during the day. The thought, and what it could imply, was far from comforting.

“You know how to use it,” Nabooru told the other Gerudo as he dropped it into Aveil’s hands. The other didn’t look too happy but took it without complaint, though neither did he nod. The censure was loud in the silence. Nabooru gave him a faintly cold stare and Aveil finally closed his eyes and gave the faintest shakes of his head, something Link doubted was visible to most of the people gathered in the courtyard.

“Mauri, the gate!” Nabooru called towards the crowd and the gate master hurried off towards the desert entrance that had been open all day, an ominous sign in and of itself. Then something hit Link and she turned swiftly to Aveil.

“Aveil, you’re going to the temple, aren’t you?” she asked but cast a quick eye upon Nabooru before returning her gaze to the second-in-command. Aveil nodded. “The haunted wasteland that blocks the path; how will you traverse it?”

At that the Gerudo blinked once, surprised, before one corner of his mouth jerked up and he held up the ruby set in gold that the Spirit Sage had given him. “This acts as a compass, in a sense,” he explained.

“Among other things,” its owner agreed.

“Won’t you need it though?” Maybe the Hylians would argue that Nabooru didn’t deserve the respect his station actually demanded without the jewel or there was some other use to it that he would go without if he gave it up.

The man in question sighed. “I can do without it.”

Link shook her head. “You can take my Lens of Truth, Aveil,” she argued. “I don’t need it for anything right now, if guidance to the temple is all you need. And, if you _do_ need your stone, Nabooru,” Link said as she quickly turned to look at the sage who appeared ready to argue himself, “for whatever reason we may or may not foresee now, we won’t need the lens. That’s for sure.” Nabooru regarded her stubborn face for a heartbeat before shaking his head and waving her in the direction of the fortress.

“Fine.”

Link didn’t waste any time before setting off at a fast clip. Behind her, Nabooru called out for his people to set out towards the Spirit Temple. Belatedly she realized that Nabooru could have argued that they may need the lens if he wasn’t with them. It was a thought that chilled her to the bone and almost made her stumble. No. That wasn’t happening. She wouldn’t allow it. No one was allowed to take Nabooru from… his people. Not even Zelda.

The realization, when it hit her, was a relief as well as a shock. She regretted she didn’t have time to consider why it made her feel that way as her old self pushed firmly to the fore. It was the part of her that had ruled her for the year she fought for Hyrule, the part that was all about battle and survival; the part that had been fostered by the Triforce of Courage. They needed action. Thought could come later. Now there was only place for determination.

She got back in time to see the last third of the Gerudo pass through the gate. Aveil was waiting beside it with Epona’s reins in his hands, something he exchanged for the Lens of Truth. He gave her a wry smile.

“Make sure he doesn’t make me do active duty again,” he told her and it was only as he passed through the gate and she mounted her horse, that she got what he meant. When she first arrived after leaving the Temple of Time, Aveil had been the acting leader of the fortress because Nabooru had been away. In other words, don’t let Nabooru die or disappear again. She nodded at Aveil’s back as he made his way to the front of the train of people, carts and animals. She’d do her damned best and if her damned best had gotten her Ganondorf’s head before… how could she not manage to keep Nabooru’s on his shoulders?

Said man was waiting for her at the head of the detail that consisted of some thirty odd people if she didn’t miss her mark. He wasn’t smiling and sighed when she arrived by his side. Half of the elite warriors were on horseback and Nayroon had discreetly thrown his head towards their leader as she got closer, indicating where she should go as the strict formation had no empty spot for Epona. Nabooru gave a quick glance at the gate before turning it onto her.

“You know,” he complained in a low voice that the early twilight and stillness didn’t yet have the power to enhance, “I’d prefer it if you, too, went with them.” Link stiffened in Epona’s borrowed saddle.

“Please, don’t order me—”

“However,” he quickly continued before she had the chance to get much of her protest out, “independent of where I desired your presence, I can’t order you to go anyway.”

She blinked at him. “Why?”

“Because you’re a member of the Gerudo elite warriors,” he told her patiently but not without a bit of remorse. “In the event of an attack, like now, _all_ elite warriors have to defend the rest of the tribe even if they can, and do, move to safety. It’s a preemptive measure, so to speak,” he said with a face as he turned forward on his white steed. “So… even if, on the smallest off chance, you would follow the order, as the leader of the Gerudo, I can’t give it.”

Independent of his desire, he would do his duty. Just like she would, she noted. At least in this she would, she had to amend as a memory flitted across her brain of an instance where she didn’t do what had obviously been her duty, or at least an order from a person who should know duty. Or? Hadn’t her duty always been to see to Hyrule’s safety? And hadn’t she done as much? Was her duty then over then Ganondorf died? Was it so that she never did fail her duty, her task? Maybe… maybe that was correct. Maybe, what she did in the Temple of Time, had simply been a choice rather than a breaking of duty, of destiny. Maybe that was why she was still fit to wield the Master Sword and carry a piece of the Triforce. It did ring with a faint echo certainty that could, or would, grow louder and more assured if allowed time.

Link smiled at the sage, her newborn conviction shining its tiny flame through her visage. “I’m glad for it,” she told him truthfully.

Nabooru gave her a small smile in return. “In a sense… I am, too. I’d much rather fight by your side than not,” he said before lifting his gaze to where the large portcullis still hung suspended and gave a sharp nod. “Bring her down, Mauri!” The short haired Gerudo gave a salute before pushing down a heavy lever. In a rush of clanking chains, the gate to the desert closed with ominous finality. After a few seconds of fiddling, he pulled the lever itself loose and, tying it to his belt like a twin for the scimitar he had at the opposite hip, swung over the balustrade. A moment later he became visible again as he climbed down the portcullis before joining up with the rest of the tribe waiting a short distance away.

The whole thing, while awfully practical as far as slowing or downright preventing an enemy from following your noncombatants, was impressive. Link had never seen such effortless wall, or gate, scaling before.

“The gate master is always someone who’s passed the test of our training grounds and qualified as an elite warrior but not taken the position,” Nabroou spoke, drawing her gaze to him. The light that had set his hair aflame before was almost gone now due to the cliffs surrounding the fortress village. That was true… She had seen the fire opal at Mauri’s forehead before but not truly thought about it. He gave her a smile. “The same is true for the second-in-command. He and the gate master are the only elite warriors among us that never stay behind to defend the tribe.” Link could understand why.

After that, they began to move. The path to the ravine wasn’t long but it felt both too long and too short as they moved swiftly.

“Will they have waited?” Link asked nervously.

“We’ve heard nothing, that means the bridge still stands,” Nabooru replied cryptically. “They haven’t moved, small blessing that.”

“What about archers?” Link asked skeptically. Nabooru only shook his head.

“The bridge escape stands separately,” he replied without really explaining anything.

It didn’t become much clearer as they arrived by the ravine where about a dozen and a half elite warriors stood stoic guard. The bridge was empty but on the other side of the rapidly rushing waters far below stood a large contingent of the royal guard of Hyrule… and Zelda. Link swallowed gently. Zelda didn’t look much happier compared to the last time they’d seen each other and he glared at Nabooru as they came to a halt some meters away from the base of the bridge. Nabooru stopped his horse two steps ahead of his guards but made no further move to dismount or otherwise.

“Prince Zelda of Hyrule,” the Gerudo greeted the other without so much as a nod. He did keep his voice steady and even though if not polite. The soon-to-be king sent another wordless glare across the bridge before, a moment later, replying with a growl.

“Gerudo chief.” It sounded more like “thief chief”, or something worse, the way Zelda’s voice dripped venom. His deep blue eyes burned into Nabooru’s amber ones but for a second the wavered to the side and took in Link. The glance only lasted for a heartbeat before Zelda snapped his attention back onto the Gerudo. “I want my citizen back,” he barked out.

Nabooru blinked before a lazy smile slowly broke over his lips and Link stiffened. She could see just a hint of his expression but Zelda’s darkening features told her she was correct in her guess of it; Nabooru could just as well have said “fuck off, sweetheart”. “I don’t have any Hylian among my people,” he answered instead. If Link’d had any doubts about Nabooru’s expression, they were blown away by the tone of his voice. He enjoyed the reply he gave Zelda and he’d given up on any thought of a peaceful solution. It made Link nervous. They didn’t need to agitate Zelda _or_ the large amount of armored guards the prince had with him. It suddenly hit her to wonder if, since Nabooru was here, if Impa also was back. Zelda’s bodyguard from infancy could very well be hiding in the shadows somewhere and if the sheikah had any sort of ranged weapon on him… She should get Nabooru to stop goading Zelda, if nothing else.

If looks could have killed, Zelda would have had the blood of the Sage of Spirit on his hands by now. As it stood, he gripped the reins to his horse with the kind of visible strain that left no doubt about the white knuckles hiding within the gloves.

“Careful, your highness, you might break something,” Nabooru said in a low voice and it was a wonder Zelda heard him over the river but the budding night was calm.

“Bullshit, you rotting offal!” Zelda cursed in reply to the previous denial as a hand sliced through the air with such force that Link expected to see magic flare. Either Zelda held onto his power with the kind of tenacious control that only a near decade could instill in a person or, something Link hoped more for, Zelda’s magic didn’t depend on his temper. “I want back what’s mine—!”

“There’s nothing of yours here!” Nabooru snapped back, temper finally beginning to rise as well. If she closed her eyes and let her imagination flow, she could see the first leaping flames of Din’s Fire circling them both but the spell promised the kind of potency that would engulf the whole ravine and burn the bridge to cinders to blow away in the breeze. “If there ever was, you threw it out! But that’s always the case, isn’t it?” he continued viciously. “You Hylians throw things out and expect others to care for it until you want it back and then for everyone to just hand it over!”

“We had a duty!”

“Goddess-chosen garbage! If you didn’t want—”

“It was never undesired!” Zelda yelled heatedly and his eyes had taken on that livid, electrifying color and power that Link had only ever seen once before and prayed, after every nightmare, to never see again. Now, for some reason, while it was extremely worrying, it wasn’t as painful as she’d thought it’d be. “But we _had a duty_.” Zelda’s voice had fallen to a tightly controlled pitch but the power still crackled and danced in his eyes.

“Sometimes, you just have to choose,” Nabooru replied acidly. Link couldn’t help but hear the anger turn into its more potent form; hate. They weren’t… talking about Hyrule and what happened during the interrupted oath ceremony anymore. Zelda’s control was… beyond Link’s imagination but even she could now hear what wasn’t being said. They were talking about her. Her, Zelda and the actions taken at the Temple of Time.

“Choose…” Zelda sounded like a wanted to laugh and spit at the word in the same breath, his eyes had also fallen to the sturdy planks making up the bridge. It was a miracle they didn’t carry a scorch mark when the prince raised his gaze again. “When you have a duty, you can’t always choose. But I wouldn’t expect someone like _you_ , despite your misawarded position, to understand. The other races had the grace of the goddesses in some form or the other, but your sorry excuse of a people… What did they give the world? What do they bring into it? Accursed men and an even more accursed monster of a female.” He wouldn’t even grant Ganondorf the right to be considered a person, simply a gender-specified thing or, as he said, monster.

“We did the best we could with what we were given,” Nabooru growled back, a quiet rage beginning to overtake the burning anger of before. Somehow, that was even more frightening than the fiery passion. Link could hear the unspoken warning behind the Gerudo’s words; do not speak ill of his people. Zelda had the choice of making it personal but on another level and it was _not_ recommended. Whether it was because of Zelda’s self-control or because he chose to ignore that path in favor of the former, Link wasn’t sure, but silence reigned for a second before the prince spoke again.

“I’ll give you one more chance… _thief_.” That one word meant something but Zelda managed to give it a thousand more, and completely unrelated, meanings with the sound of his voice alone. There was an unspoken promise behind those words, too. _“I do not indulge in bloodshed easily.”_ Link wasn’t sure where the words came from but they sounded correct, for some reason they sounded… true.

“Your highness, I apologize for my actions at the temple but I couldn’t move forward! My duty was to save Hyrule and I fulfilled—”

“Silence!”

Link jumped, her heart jumping right along with her into her throat, and swallowed the rest of her words at Nabooru’s angry voice and even more furious glare. Her heart refused to go back down into place no matter how hard she swallowed her words. The Gerudo leader held her gaze for what felt like minutes but probably wasn’t. It burned the whole time and had only lost a few embers by the time Nabooru broke their stare to turn back to Zelda.

“This doesn’t concern you, warrior,” he told Link while his eyes rested upon the Hylian force across the bridge. “This is a matter between Hyrule and the Gerudo and as such, it’ll be settled by their leaders. And as the leader of the Gerudo, I, Nabooru the caretaker of the Goddess, declare the ties between the Gerudo as a whole and Hyrule and her people cut until such a point in time that relations are amicable again,” he spoke loudly as he raised an arm high above his head before dropping his voice lower. “If they _ever_ will be,” he finished and slashed the hand down through the air, indicating the bridge, as his eyes shot to the far left of the ravine and the second waterfall. “Utooh!” he called loudly, pulling not only Link’s attention towards that direction but also all of the Hylian contingent.

In the growing gloom, it wasn’t hard to miss the sudden flare that became visible. The archery master was crouching on a ledge, longbow with a flaming arrow nocked and aimed towards them. Link’s eyes flashed back towards the other side of the bridge. _Goddesses! Nabooru, don’t—!_

The roar of voices from across the bridge signaled the release of the projectile, Link was sure, but she could only stare at what she hadn’t thought to be the target until a heartbeat ago. Head shooting up, she caught Zelda’s eyes as even as his soldiers tried to block the path of the arrow with their own bodies. “Bombflower clusters!” she screeched and could see the understanding dawning in those dark blue eyes before smoke flared to life to fill the scene.

A second later, a deafening roar and a brilliant flash split the early evening open before a thunderous, breaking noise battled its way to the top and overtook the scene. The whinnying of frightened horses, as well as the attempts by Epona to bolt, came back to Link in bits and pieces. Something was restraining the reins she was trying to hold in a death grip to not end up headfirst down the ravine or into a cliff wall. As the smoke began to thin minutely, she could make out the ghost by her side. Nabooru’s blindingly white clothes looked a bit less blinding now and not only due to the darkness, smoke and ash were staining the cloth lightly. He held harshly onto Epona’s hackamore though, a somewhat wild and frightened look dancing momentarily in his eyes. It disappeared on a relieved sigh as he saw she was doing her best to control her horse. He pulled on the tack as he began backing up his own spooked horse. Link nodded and began to try and gently force Epona backwards, relieved to know that the lines of guards and elite warriors, both on foot and horseback, behind them had already moved further back so their path was free.

A heartbeat later, the memory of deep blue eyes hit her. _Zelda!_ She couldn’t tell if she choked out the name or it simply beat like a terrified bird does its wings inside her mind. Her harsh grip on Epona slipped and the horse took a leap forward before Nabooru’s hand was in the stallion’s mane, painfully forcing the beast to stop. Link thought she heard a curse but she couldn’t be sure.

“Zelda!” she called hoarsely, a grip around her heart that felt frighteningly much like the grip the terrifying darkness within the Shadow Temple had managed to wrap around her a few times during that fight.

“He won’t be dead,” Nabooru coughed. “The charge was set towards the middle of the bridge and exactly measured.”

Link snapped her head to the side with a retort in mind that died in her throat because the smoke had cleared a bit more and she could see Nabooru better. “Shrapnel!” she hissed with her heart almost beating its way out of her throat at the sight of the blood slipping down the side of Gerudo’s face. He didn’t seem to notice it himself and she worriedly wondered if it was because it was a minor wound… or something else. Nabooru had turned his eyes forward though and a wind cleared the rest of the smoke away.

Remnants of the bridge glowed with hot embers eating away at the wood on either side of the ravine. On the opposite side, something had taken out the upper part of one of the anchoring base pillars for the bridge, leaving wood, from stakes to slivers, staring forlornly at the sky. It must have been a runaway piece of the explosives or one of the thick planks had survived the blast the go flying, Link realized numbly as her eyes finally settled upon a seated form. Zelda was crouching on the ground, partly held back and partly supported, or maybe even supporting, the tall sheikah at his side.

_Impa,_ Link realized with relief. He must have been present and upon either the warning shout, or the loosening of the arrow, tackled the prince from the horse and shielded him bodily, whether it be from arrow, explosion or shrapnel. Link felt her muscles relax a fraction. She wasn’t sure what she felt were Zelda was concerned but she knew one thing; she didn’t want the man harmed and it was more than just for her. Or maybe it was less for her sake now and more for the country? She wasn’t sure but one thing she definitely knew; she was glad he was unharmed. His armor and old bodyguard had seen to that.

A minute of silent staring at each other and the destruction ensued before, finally, Zelda leveled a glare at Nabooru. “Why did you blow up the bridge?!” he demanded angrily, voice still slightly hoarse from the smoke he’d inhaled. “Do you not dare to face the Hylians in honest combat?” Zelda seemed more angry with the loss of opportunity to deal with Nabooru personally than attempting to mock or goad the other. Link had to agree, when the shock of what had just happened settled, it did feel rather anticlimactic.

Nabooru choked out a short laugh. “Oh, no, I dare,” he reassured the other as he still held both his and Links horses in an iron grip. There was still a lot of nervous air around them, causing their skin to shiver with fear and unreleased energy every so often. “I’m just not about to waste any of my people in pointless fighting. I care for them a bit more than that and you are greater in number right now, even if you don’t have any more soldiers hiding just beyond sight. While you may still be recovering from the tragedy caused by the abuse of Din’s Power, you should never doubt that the Gerudo _will_ fight you,” Nabooru told the other man calmly before a dangerous edge slipped into his voice. “That is, should you dare try to come into our lands,” he added before letting his voice even out again.

“The Gerudo take care of their own, protects them, and we have no need of the Hylians, not really. Should times ever become more amicable again, or at least neutral, then trade and passage might start up again, but for now…” A momentary pause and Nabooru cast his gaze back over his fighters, before returning his gaze to Zelda. “The Gerudo walk alone,” he declared loudly and released Epona’s mane to turn his own steed around. The rest of the Gerudo had already turned in the right direction and parted so that a path was clear for them. Link took the reins in her still somewhat shaky hands before pausing a second. From across the ravine, she met Zelda’s eyes. She couldn’t decipher all that she saw in them but in reply to the demand, or request, she wasn’t sure, to somehow cross the chasm, she sent an apologetic gaze and gentle smile.

“Sorry,” she whispered before turning Epona around and following Nabooru. She could hear the Gerudo beginning to move behind her, closing ranks upon the space they’d opened, but somehow she could hear the silence across the ravine even more. It was an odd feeling it engendered in her and she couldn’t name it properly, not like the first time she’d fled Zelda’s presence. Link was fairly sure though; she wasn’t feeling like she was fleeing, nor did she feel sad or like she was abandoning the prince. She’d just chosen and this was one of the consequences she had to accept, this odd feeling. Maybe it would become clearer in time.

A bit further up the road, more or less out of sight from the ravine, Nabooru was waiting for her. He seemed to be fairly vibrating with energy despite sitting still on the horse. His face was closed down with a tight control that she didn’t see often, if she ever had seen it on him. Maybe? Yes, she thought it may have been there, or something very similar, when he was first taken by the Gerudo sorcerer elders. She hadn’t been sure what to name it then either. Terror, false bravado and determination to get the bleeding crap out of this situation? She guessed she could sum it up as adrenaline in one word but it seemed woefully inadequate. When she reached his side, his hands suddenly shot out and grabbed her below the biceps. Twisting her in her saddle, Nabooru turned her towards him, causing Epona to dance a step closer as something pulled on his rider. The next thing was a bit of a surprise as she received a bruising kiss that had a hint of desperation behind it.

The noise of protesting surprise was swallowed and more or less disappeared between them. She did manage to get her hands up to grasp at his arms but Nabooru held fast, unwilling to loosen the iron grip. In the end, Link’s annoyance translated itself into a forceful return of the kiss. It ended a few moments later for lack of air.

“You idiot! You’re bleeding!” she croaked hoarsely, no energy, or free hands, to point to the wound on his forehead. Nabooru simply gasped for air right along with her, eyes closed.

“If it’s for or because of you, I don’t care if I bleed out,” he finally replied, hands still holding onto her arms in a harsh grip.

“Don’t say stupid things,” Link protested as anger began creeping into her voice. “And let me go so I can hit you properly.”

“I think I’ll stay like this, thanks,” was the reply she got but somehow, while it sounded relieved, it also sounded as though he wanted to laugh. “Or I would but we need to get going.”

“Where?” Link asked with a light glare at him and Nabooru finally straightened up, meeting her gaze.

“The Goddess shrine, of course.” He said it with a smile in his eyes and echoing through his voice but he didn’t seem to have the energy to force it into his lips. Link simply stared at him until he heaved a sigh and, closing his eyes again, put his forehead against hers. “Goddess, for a second I thought your mad horse had dashed off right into the ravine.”

“You could have warned me,” she accused but couldn’t really manage the glare she wanted to give him. He opened his eyes and met her stare.

“I thought your horse to be more battle trained than that,” he told her honestly and with remorse echoing through his voice but it was the ghost of horror in his eyes, born of what could have happened, that halted any irate retort in her horse’s favor.

“Epona is fantastic at many things, but I rarely took him up against enemies and monsters. Most places I encountered them on weren’t really riding-friendly.” Nabooru nodded once and straightened up, finally letting her go and leaving her personal space. As their small train began moving again, Link suddenly awfully aware that they hadn’t been alone during that exchange but most of the warriors and guards seemed able to hold their faces in check. Or at least whenever she glanced their way. When they arrived back at the fortress, Nabooru sent a few off to gather up some medical supplies to tend any of the minor injuries sustained by the bridge execution as well as some water. Another few were sent off to scale the wall because there was an opening mechanism on the opposite side of the gate. Nayroon gave her a wave and a cheeky grin as he hurried off towards the gate but before she could start burning with embarrassment, another of the elite warriors, one she remembered fighting when freeing the carpenters, grabbed his ponytail and dragged the cheeky Gerudo away, wincing. Link doubted it was that bad for him.

“What will we be doing now? Out at the shrine and later. Will we come back here?” she asked as she gave Nabooru a hand cleaning his wound. It wasn’t as bad as it’d first looked. Head wounds did bleed a lot, or so she’d been told before and had a few experiences with.

“Celebrate Din’s festival. It’s usually held during the full moon period of this month, so about a week, give or take a day,” Nabooru replied as regarded her. “Normally, we celebrate on the outskirts of the desert, not far from the fortress, but the temple will serve just as well. It’s also safer. We’ll leave here, close the gate for now and when we’re done, we’ll make sure the village is still safe. If it is, we’ll have the fun task of preparing for any true hostilities. That’ll be great fun!” Nabooru winced when she pressed a little too hard on his cut as she frowned at his wording.

“And if it isn’t safe?”

“Then we’ll take it from there,” he replied after a short pause. “Few survive the desert like we do.”

When they were all finally ready to leave, Nabooru gave Link a wry and almost cheeky smile. “However, for now, all we should do is stop the frowning and concentrate upon the festival!” Then grinned properly at her. “Enjoy the summer and the blessings of Din. It’s a bit of a ride to the temple, as you know, but I can tell you a bit more about the festival on the way,” he offered. Link gave him a quick smile along with the nod. That did sound like a plan.


	11. Din’s blazing glory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din’s blessings are power and passion. One of the two flares to burning life in the desert night as Heroine of Time and Spirit Sage return to the temple where their acquaintance began long ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for a blazing good time. Oh, ha ha ha ;p

The trip out to the distant edifice in the desert had taken almost a whole day the first time Link travelled there with the help of the Lens of Truth. Due to the magically draining nature of the sacred songs, she’d always preferred to take Epona, or travel manually in some other form, when she needed to reach the temples and far corners of Royal Hyrule. However, the Spirit Temple had been the one place she couldn’t always apply that method to. The Gerudo would never in their wildest dreams have let a child run off into the desert after all, not even a Hylian one. Nabooru swore the trip could take little less than half a day if they pushed themselves but the choice was made to stop and rest at the underground chamber marking the halfway point. She’d been to it twice or thrice herself and usually did the same to tackle the desert with fresh eyes or, if a sandstorm raged, to wait out the worst of it. Such storms made any journey really slow going as the land constantly tried to bury you. It was a tight fit to get more or less everyone in a chamber that Link had always seen as large for its apparent non-existent purpose but they managed. A few stayed up above to act as sentry or sleep on the sands, wrapped up in cloaks. Considering how Nabooru dropped off fairly quickly, Link guessed her earlier assumption of him not getting a lot of sleep, if any, to be a fact. It made his earlier irate mood even more understandable.

Sleeping through the early hours of morning and noon, they awaited the late afternoon to avoid the worst of what Din’s Pearl had to offer during her season before continuing. The goddess seemed to calm her usually boisterous desert as the winds kept to a minimum, making progress easy. Link sent out a silent prayer to the impetuous goddess as the Spirit Temple drew near, near enough to spot the multitude of bonfires staining the land around the semi-sheltered area and inside the valley where the structure itself was carved into the cliffs.

“Isn’t that a bit too many?” Link asked as the Gerudo leader squinted at the scene below the dune they’d just crested.

“Yes,” he muttered as he continued to take in the darkening landscape. There was a constant movement down below, a lot of colorful tents and shading draperies set up but also wagons and they hadn’t seen off any wagons, covered or not, from the fortress village the day before. They’d apparently also been spotted, if Link wasn’t off, as movement close to the edge began to pick up speed and its pattern broke. Nabooru’s posture finally relaxed. “Bloody… I thought they weren’t coming this year,” he muttered but the tone wasn’t anxious or angry but rather like he wanted to shake his head at the sudden change of plans. Link could only assume they were visited upon by neutral, if not friendly, company. It was an odd timing though.

“Who are they?”

“Members of the usual trading caravans that come in across the desert,” Nabooru explained as they carefully set off down the dune. “Only, they usually don’t join us for the festival of Din’s Heart because it’s too hot to make travel at this time of the year easy. They can never take an as direct route as we do due to not having a magical means of navigating the desert. Also, Aveil told me the last caravan for the spring said they wouldn’t come for the festival this year.” Aveil had said something about the caravans, hadn’t he? Although it was a while ago now. Something about trading and a special, biyearly event or delivery.

“Is it bad that they’re here?” She hadn’t thought much of it then but Aveil had seemed a bit less than forthcoming with information about the caravans.

Nabooru shook his head but he was still frowning. “No, I just didn’t expect them. Things can get a bit rowdy during these days when we’ve got guests but I’m sure Aveil has changed things around accordingly. Or at least to the best of his abilities with such limited time and preparations.”

When they arrived at the fringes of the encampment Link could tell that there were a lot of new faces there and they weren’t Gerudo or Hylian. She had no idea who lived beyond the desert but the multitude of smiling, cheery and open faces that she didn’t recognize at all was staggering. Rounded ears, tanned skin and dark hair, from glossy black to the kind of dark brown the old Deku Tree had sported and some with the faintest touch of red to their strands to soften the deep hues, dominated the guests. The lack of colors on their bodies was made up ten times over by the softly draping garments they wore. The entire rainbow, and then some, appeared to be represented. She also noticed that almost all of the strangers were women. Everyone seemed extremely happy to see them though, especially the Gerudo.

“Where’s Aveil?” Nabooru demanded of one of the Gerudo closest. The young man grinned.

“Up in front of the shrine. It’s good to see you all unharmed, chief.”

Nabooru nodded his reply and threw the man a quick smile before setting off at a trot. “You’re all free to enjoy the evening!” he called over his shoulder a second later, almost as if he’d nearly forgotten to dismiss the many warriors that they’d travelled with for nearly a day now. It didn’t seem like a necessary order though, as some had already begun to slip away into the crowd. Link put her heels to Epona’s sides and followed the tall Gerudo. While Nabooru had told her they mostly relaxed, played music and danced during the festival, she was sure there was more to it. Most festivals surrounding the goddesses seemed to have some sort of ceremony or official element to them after all. Even the Kokiri’d had some ceremony and plays during their remembrance day for Farore.

As they drew nearer to the Spirit Temple’s entrance, Link was finally able to pick out Aveil in the crowd. Seeing as he was seated and without his vest, there was a lot less green to spot. The two figures seated on either side of him did a fairly good job of unintentionally shielding him from view, too. He seemed to spot Link and Nabooru at the same time because he raised the bronze cup he was holding in greetings, a relieved smile upon his lips. His companions, both women, turned in their direction almost as one. They were beautiful creatures with dark, wavy hair and exotic looks. From the way they stared though, Link was wondering if they didn’t feel she looked just as exotic, too. To be fair, had they ever seen a Hylian? Her skin was gently tanned but nowhere near the Gerudos’ and her hair was blonde. It was actually a paler color than when she had left the forest, too, due to the many months in the sun. The woman closest to them had huge, dark eyes that, despite the large, merrily blazing fire not too far from her, appeared pitch black. Her companion, eyes a hue much closer to the Gerudos’ shades of caramel or gold, recovered first and a very merry, and somewhat amused, grin lit up her features and made her chocolate eyes dance.

“Spirit chief! You finally arrive,” she announced happily, also raising her cup to him while her other arm remained linked with Aveil’s. Her eyes narrowed, a cheeky glint coming alive in them, as she slid them unto the Hylian. “What unsavory deeds have kept you and the company away?” Her companion giggled. Aveil, too, seemed to have a bit of a hard time keeping his face straight at her words as the two newcomers jumped down from their horses. The beasts were quickly taken away by one of the older members of the tribe.

“Are they drunk?” Link asked in a very hushed voice as she leaned closer to the tall Gerudo. She hadn’t had the chance to see people in this sort of setting often due to her travels and alcoholic drinks had never featured among the Kokiri (naturally). Neither had she had the opportunity to get into such a state herself despite her time with the Gerudo, they drank very little of the stronger stuff. Aveil had said it was to always be alert and not spoil their bodies. Nabooru inclined his head in her direction, too, before answering.

“Tipsy, most of them, but we’re not that far into the second night of the festival,” he whispered back with equal amounts of dread, “oh, bother” and amusement. Link nodded subtly as she glanced at the company around the fire. “Travelling is only unsavory if you do it in bad weather, Jalayze” Nabooru answered the woman who made a face at his unwillingness to either play along or divulge anything interesting. “And I’m sure Aveil already told you why we would be delayed.” Said person cleared his throat, eyes going elsewhere, and the other woman beside him giggled again.

“Oh, yes, one could think he’s enamored of you, the way he worries,” Jalayze said as she leaned in closer to Aveil, curves conforming to his side. “It’s almost enough to get jealous, Spirit chief,” she sighed dreamily and then both woman giggled. Link could kind of see why the state of tipsy could be nice to attain from time to time if everything seemed amusing while under the influence of it.

“Why the change of plans? Who else has come?”

Jalayze cast Nabooru a pout but replied. “Sidon and Aldoz are here, as per usual, but Halazh has given up now, claiming old age makes journeys like these a bother for him. As for why,” she answered his questions in the reverse order, finishing with a careless shrug, “summer heat went to more heads than just mine?” Then she leaned closer to Aveil, putting her head on his shoulder. “Didn’t think I’d be spending time with your stoic second-in-command though,” she said with a secretive grin. “Turns out he’s not so stoic when he wants to be. Right, Shazrah?”

The other woman only giggled in reply while Aveil, for a heartbeat, looked as though he considered that he _may_ have taken on more than he could handle… before the look was swept away by a lopsided grin at Nabooru.

The man simply shook his head, obviously giving up on trying to make sense of the tipsy woman and her entourage, although there was a tiny curve to his mouth as he met Aveil’s eyes.

“Cheer up, Spirit chief,” she giggled, sitting up and raising her cup again, as if inviting, or insisting, that he grab one for himself. If only to wipe the seriousness from his visage, Link guessed. “It’s the month of Din’s love and power! Enjoy the night,” she urged happily as she hugged Aveil’s, pressing herself closer. Something in her eyes seemed to say that she certainly intended to.

“Do you wish to join us for the evening meal, Nabooru?” Aveil asked in a probably rather futile attempt to put some sense back into the conversation.

The leader cast one glance at Link but when the Hylian simply smiled good-naturedly, he nodded. “Yes, we’ll join you for a spell.” Walking around the fire, Nabooru removed his scimitar and dropped it behind the mat Jalayze was seated on before sitting down, too. He directed Link to the empty spot between himself and the woman before pouring them both a drink from one of the decanters standing nearby. Link put the Master Sword beside Nabooru’s blade, sincerely doubting her need for it anymore tonight or that any of the strangers would dare take it.

“Before it is forgotten in the fire of the festival, I placed goddess gem in your usual spot,” Aveil spoke up and Nabooru nodded as he took a swallow of his wine.

“Likewise then, I’m considering having another gate built at home, just out of sight from the ravine,” Nabooru replied. Aveil’s response was cut short because the woman between him and Link slapped his arm.

“No more boring talk. That’s what you have your private time for, boys,” she declared with an annoyed pout. Aveil simply chuckled at that as one of the younger teens came up and deposited a large platter of fried meats and fowl, as well as chunkily diced fresh fruit and bread. He seemed to drag his feet when it came to leaving though, casting long glances at the group around the fire. After a few moments, Nabooru turned his head to the youth.

“Go back, Tereil. You still have to wait two or three years.” The boy raised his chin but Nabooru didn’t leave any room for arguing. “If you train harder and go through the first of the training grounds, then we’ll talk.” The boy froze for a second and then hurried off. Link frowned as she glanced at the man beside her.

“Should you really encourage that, at his age?” What could he be? Thirteen? Fourteen? No more, surely.

Nabooru shrugged. “Don’t worry, he won’t be allowed in there until he’s ready. His tutors would skin him if he tried to do even the lesser one without their leave.”

“There’s more than one?” she asked confused. She had only ever done one.

Nabooru grinned. “Of course there is more than one,” he confirmed, highly amused. “There are two melee ones and then the archery challenge. You only did the harder one and the archery, so I’m told. Since you completed the senior training grounds, there was no reason for you to do the other one.” Link blushed. She hadn’t known there were more than one or an order for them but that did sound logical. The archery challenge had been fun but by no means difficult. Was that why the archery master, Utooh, had been surprised when she had said she wanted to take the challenge? Probably.

After that, the food platter was passed around and the evening turned gentler… for the space of time it took to eat one’s dinner. Music started somewhere further away from the temple but soon enough another, closer, set of drums and flute had joined in and from there on it was downhill. The music set the beat, creating a steady, passionate hum for the mood to move in time to but it was the dancing that really set the heated rhythm that got the blood in many bodies pumping. The small bonfires cast leaping shadows as dancers swirled around the flames, surrounded by arms and flowing fabrics whose light weave made the colors come alive when backlit by fire.

Link watched the exotic tableau that fairly vibrated with life and energy as she leaned on Nabooru’s side, he hadn’t said anything or moved away so she assumed he didn’t mind. She could see how this was the perfect way to celebrate Din. At some point Shazrah had pulled Aveil over to one of the larger fires nearby with her companion calling after her to not exhaust the man too early. The dark-eyed beauty had simply laughed and insisted her friend should know better after all the dancing yesterday.

Link could honestly say that the spirited dancing was tempting but for tonight she only wanted to take it easy. The days leading up to tonight had been exciting enough. Giving over to the passionate music and dancing with that near wild abandon could wait until tomorrow. When Aveil and Shazrah finally came back, Nabooru stood up and held out a hand to her as the other couple sank down onto the thick mats by the fire.

“Come. I’d like to show you something,” Nabooru urged as Link looked up to meet his gaze before taking his proffered hand and getting up. She didn’t need the aid but it felt as though it was something more and so she had accepted. He didn’t let go of her hand as they turned towards the Spirit Temple but a voice halted them.

“Oh, Spirit chief, be careful! Don’t break her. She’s cute!” Jalayze cheerily called after them as they turned to look at the woman who was leaning in close to Aveil. Nabooru turned back towards the temple and began moving again.

“Ignore her, please,” he said and let Link’s hand go to place his arm around her shoulders instead.

“Wait! Maybe one of us should speak to her first!” Jalayze continued and from the sound of it, Aveil was having trouble not laughing but Link wasn’t sure as they hadn’t stopped. Nabooru twitched though.

“Aveil!” he snapped with a growl and a scowl, almost turning around to glare at the trio but refrained.

Behind them, the cheerfully amused giggling from Jalayze was suddenly silenced by something that sounded suspiciously much like a kiss to Link. Considering how there was no protest from the woman, or her companion, she assumed it wasn’t unwelcome.

“Where are we going?” Link asked as they reached the entrance of the temple. The huge building, its true size hidden within the rock it was carved out of, lay calm and silent despite the passion and music beating a wild rhythm outside. It was almost like stepping into a completely different world as the sounds from the outside slowly died down.

“To somewhere with a view, a place I always go to when I’m here,” Nabooru told her as he once again switched to holding her hand instead as he led the way through corridors great and small. She recognized most, one in particular that’d had a big time block congesting it before her arrival. That corridor led to the far western reaches of the temple, a part that had been inaccessible for an adult… but not a child who could fit in the ventilation channels.

“Of course,” Nabooru continued with a wry smile, “I usually don’t end up having much time to go there during this time of year.” It seemed to be a confession.

“If it’s sacred to the temple—” Link began but was quickly interrupted.

“No, not really,” Nabooru replied with a small frown, as though he had to think if that answer was completely correct. “It’s just a spot I used for contemplation or if I need to collect myself before any duties in the temple. I think that…” He actually stopped as he frowned at the air in front of him, thinking. “That after I was put under the elders’ spell, I unconsciously came here in an attempt to break through their magic. Maybe it would have worked, too, if I had been allowed to remain there at length. Who knows,” he finished with a shrug before pushing onwards again. That did stab her a bit in the heart.

“I’m sorry.”

Nabooru stopped again and turned to her this time, frowning at Link. “What for?”

“You were under a mind-controlling spell for seven years.”

“As spells go, it wasn’t that bad,” he countered with an unyielding gaze. “And I’ve already told you to stop apologizing for that. I won’t change my mind now, or ever, about how this was the better choice to turning back time. It’s done and over with,” he said as he started up again. “Forget it. Lay it to rest…” he trailed off and then stopped so abruptly Link almost ran into him as he turned, a mischievous grin upon his lips. “Or I’ll make you,” he threatened.

“Make me wha—aaah!” Link yelped as Nabooru suddenly slipped arms around her back and thighs, lifting her before setting off at a brisk clip again.

“Make you forget the past. Force you to lay it to rest,” he told her as they came to a set of narrow stairs that just about accommodated them while Nabooru carried her. “This is the shrine of the Goddess of the Sands after all, the protector of the desert and life. You’ve seen the flowers that bloom by the oasis out here, haven’t you?” he asked as they reached the landing and the darkness of the night spilled in, choking the light from the torches set in the wall sconces.

“Yes,” Link replied a bit confused as he set her down upon one of the mats they’d been seated upon below. Aveil really had known exactly what to leave here, seeing the mat and the small satchel by the door that appeared to have a water skin peeking out of it.

“The life that the Goddess creates to fill her harsh domain isn’t just the sturdiest but also some of the most beautiful. With such proof of life and promise for the future, why should we look backwards?” Nabooru asked as he swept a hand over the night-kissed horizon before them. It was the hand where she, seven years ago, had found the silver gauntlets, Link realized with a start as she took in the scene. Only a faint trickle of light escaped the temple’s forecourt below despite the multitude of fires blazing there and all the tiny figures surrounding them. All around them an encompassing midnight blue hugged the landscape and sky, broken only by thousands of stars and one huge, red full moon. Din’s Heart in the night, so it was called for the color it took. As the month passed into the next, it would turn more orange and be called a harvest moon elsewhere in Hyrule, at least according to Malon. It was a stunning sight.

“You’re right,” Link said with a smile as they stood there silently for a while, Nabooru’s arm draped around her shoulders.

A heartbeat passed, or maybe ten, but when Link turned, they moved at the same time. Nabooru’s arms slipped around her waist while hers came up around his neck, one pair pulling the other up and the other pair pulling downwards. They met in a kiss that quickly grew to match the faint beat of the music below. One hand flowed down her side to cup her hip as the other pressed them close together, nearly flattening Link’s curves against him. One of her hands moved up and pulled loose the hair grip holding Nabooru’s long ponytail aloft, allowing the vivid tresses to tumble freely about them as her other hand flowed down his arm, nails scraping lightly against the skin.

“Will this thing hold?” Link broke the kiss to wonder as Nabooru pulled them down into the palm of the goddess statue that crowned the entrance of the temple. It was woefully old after all…

Nabooru pulled her back for a quick, hard kiss before answering, almost as if unwilling to waste the time on talking. “It’ll hold,” he insisted as he placed a kiss on the side of her neck. “It better bloody hold,” he growled angrily as her back touched the mat, one hand migrating from her hip and up her side and bare stomach. “I’m not letting you go this time,” he said before claiming her lips again, his other hand swiftly returning the favor of removing the hair ornament.

Gripping hold of the open coat, Link returned the kiss with equal fervor before slipping her hands inside it. Pushing her hands outwards, letting them flow over the leather of Nabooru’s vest, she pushed the sleeveless garment off him. It was almost annoying how much stuff was in the way. There was a sizzling energy that arose wherever their skin touched and it seemed to dance in time to the music below. It was intoxicating and reminiscent of that time at Hyrule castle, just… not exactly alike. This was… faster, headier, as though the music, mood and drink combined to become something _more_ , something potent.

What had one of the others said about this festival during the months past? When Din’s pearl blazes in the night sky, enrobed in a sheen of red, the goddess’ power dances through the air and her glory through our blood. A blazing heat…

The coat was off Nabooru’s arms and was thrown to the side, his hands going back to flow up her body and smooth over her breasts, leaving a crackling trail of energy where skin met skin and turning woefully muted through the fabric covering her chest. Nabooru was straddling one of her thighs, hard muscles as well as something else pressing against her own strong frame, when Link grabbed hold of the high collar of his vest and pressed a quick, forceful kiss to his lips. “Show me Din’s blazing glory,” she said with a somewhat breathless smile when she pulled back just enough to look him in the eye. Nabooru paused long enough to blink once at her before a greedy grin spread over his lips and danced in his eyes.

“Oh, I’ll fuck you, all right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was really difficult to decide how far or detailed to take this chapter to not lose the mood that had been set for the rest of the story, which is the reason for its delay. I guess I could take it further in this chapter if people would feel it'd make a better conclusion. If opinions are divided, I may post them as separate chapters so that everyone can read one or the other, depending on taste.
> 
> If not, stay tuned for a (very) short epilogue! Oh, and happy Spirits' frequent flier miles day. ;p Pfft


	12. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here! Have an epilogue. Because what I’ve created isn’t enough of a monster already. You need some more love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this story has been a good read but also shed some light upon the less obvious topics that this game, in my opinion, touches up, namely growing up, responsibilities and belonging. Suffice to say, the last topic is certainly handled very inadequately by OoT. You end the game not belonging anywhere and you go into, and out, of the sequel, Majora’s Mask, none the wiser. It’s sad, really. For that reason (as much as my pet peeves about time travel), I made this fic. I talk about this, as well as Zelda and Hyrule’s fate, a bit more in depth in the end notes for those who are interested.

“SEN!” The angry roar echoed up and down the pasture located in the valley connected to the fortress village of the Gerudo tribe.

“Now, now, Goldilocks…” the middle aged Gerudo said, hands up in an attempt to appear harmless, as he tried to placate the irate Hylian stalking towards him with murder in her eyes.

“Don’t you ‘Goldilocks’ me! What is that?!” she spat as she stabbed a finger at one of the enclosures, never missing a step under the warm early morning sun. The rays seemed to caress her pale blonde tresses that, despite the high ponytail they were gathered into, nearly reached the middle of her back but it did nothing to soothe her temper.

“That’d be a foal, Goldi—”

“I know what it is!” Link yelled capriciously at the horse master. “Why is Epona running alongside it?” she demanded. The elder decided to not point out that she should just have said so from the start because it seemed unhealthy. Besides, he’d known what she meant and just attempted to stall, which had failed anyway.

“Well, these things happen when ye allow a stallion t’ run freely with the mares,” Sen calmly told her. She was only a few steps away but she had stopped advancing. She didn’t look any calmer though, which was, by a tiny fraction, starting to worry the older man though. “Ye said it yerself; why not let Epona run with the others?” She had said as much, but… _still._

“You…” she ground out as she glared acidly at him. “You should have said something!”

“I didn’ think I’d need to,” Sen hedged.

“Bull—!” Someone farther behind her coughed pointedly, drowning out the rest of the word, but she ignored it. Sen looked like he very much hoped for a more effective rescue.

“Ye have yerself experienced what happens…” the Gerudo trailed off as much due to Link’s murderous visage as the vigorously shaking head of one of the two people standing a few meters behind her. The other Gerudo’s companion was doing his best trying to stay upright by aid of the pasture’s fence, his whole shape vibrating as he tried not to laugh out loud. So far… so good. If only barely. Maybe the fact that he was dead meat if he let out so much as a peep helped keep him silent because goddesses knew the Hylian didn’t need her sword, or any of her other weapons, to be deadly.

“Link,” Aveil began very calmly and _very_ carefully, “maybe you should—”

“Shut it!” Said woman snapped without gracing the man with even a glance. He didn’t seem to mind not being the center of her attention though. “I told you I didn’t want you to use Epona for your breeding,” Link growled menacingly as she began to move forward again, hands clenching and releasing several times as though she wished for something to hold… something sharp.

Behind her, Aveil hissed at the man bent almost double by the fence. “Nabooru!” The man in question seemed unlikely to recover from his incapacitated state as he gripped the topmost beam harshly, face contracting as he tried to keep silent. Why he was finding his lover’s ire so amusing, Aveil didn’t know. Maybe because he wasn’t the source of it for once…

However, before Link had the chance to reach the horse master, the leader of the Gerudo recovered enough to straighten up and, while still smiling and with laughter dancing in his eyes, spoke up. “Link, maybe you—”

“You’ll be the last to speak!” she snapped even more harshly than ever before. Nabooru didn’t flinch though, didn’t even lose the shine flickering in his eyes, as he started forward. Maybe he had a death wish, Aveil considered. The Gerudo leader didn’t falter in his step though, simply strode forward and before the woman had the chance to turn around, swiftly snaked his arms around her lifted. Link yelped but Nabooru just grinned at her.

“Maybe so, but if you murdered our capable horse master, where would your pretty, little foal be?” he asked amusedly as he held on while his quarry tried to get her arms free. Despite not having had anyone to train on before now, Aveil had found Nabooru had (very) quickly adapted a way to lift the pregnant woman in such a way that he could trap one arm between their bodies and grasp the other one, effectively immobilizing her. Link glared at him as she obstinately tried to wriggle free despite previous knowledge of the success rate for such an operation.

“One step closer to murdering _you_ ,” she threatened and Nabooru just continued to grin at her.

“Come now! Let’s not stay down here for too long. Once noon comes around, this place will be hot,” he said cheerily as he turned and began heading for the valley mouth with his load that kept wriggling like a worm. It was only a few months into the new year, they all knew the valley would be far from the soaring temperatures of the summer months.

“Then let me down and I’ll rest!”

“Yes,” he told her indulgently as he kept moving, “right after you’ve finished exercising your fists on me.”

“That exercise would never end!”

“Even more reason for me to continue then,” Nabooru replied unapologetically.

“I _really_ hate you,” was her scathing comeback.

“I _really_ love you, too.”

“You knew this would happen!” Link accused.

“Which part?” Nabooru asked, one brow raised, with the first hint of a feeling that wasn’t mirth; curiosity. For a second, Link seemed undecided as to her reply, which may have been his return to even a fraction of seriousness, but then she glared at him again.

“Me,” she replied with a freezing heat that would have done blue fire envious.

“Well… I figured, sooner or later, it would happen, yes,” he agreed as the crested the incline down into the valley. “I just didn’t think it’d happen that fast. We usually use this herb—”

“WHAT!?”

The incredulous yell rang through the fortress village. Down in the valley, out on the pastures, Epona’s head shot up as he recognized his mistress’ loud voice. What was up? Enemies? Adventure?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you it was short. Also, Nabooru should have had a bit more forethought, considering the amount of time they've been dancing around but seeing the days just before the festival... Oh well.  
> If you prefer, you’re allowed to ignore this epilogue or pretend it happened muuuch later. It was just amusing to have the two babies so close together and growing up together.
> 
> Foals are born after approximately eleven months to the human nine. The festival was on the July/August border (I wanted summer heat but to still be relatively close to the season of the harvest moon) and the epilogue probably takes place sometime around May/June, I guess. Physically, Link would be a month or two from nineteen and, as I imagined it, seven to eight months pregnant at this point. So… sometime in the middle of summer Epona got busy? Haha.  
> But to conclude this story, what happened with Termina (Majora’s Mask)? Just like in the official Downfall Timeline (and probably also Adult Timeline), time wasn’t turned back and Termina had no one to save it from the moon. Oops. Consider them all flattened and their little, evil dogs that try to chew on the Link-Deku stick, too. What about the reason Link ended up in Termina then? Well, Navi did leave. Link just never got to see it as she left first in this case. Also, the need that drove Link to search for the fairy was removed by her forming a stronger bond with the Gerudo tribe, them effectively taking Navi and, ultimately, the Kokiri’s place. As I see it in OoT, Link lost his family and identity when he left the Kokiri but Navi was there, so it was okay. When Navi disappeared, however, there was no one, which is why the search for the fairy originally began. Replace Navi and the role she filled as well as the need to find her diminishes if not altogether disappears.  
> What about Zelda? I based this Zelda’s actions on the version of her we saw in OoT. There, she had the greatest sense of duty in the world, but it also meant she was willing to pay the price duty demanded, as true leaders should. You lead by example. However, not many can or are even willing to go as far as she did and that’s what I wanted to portray through Linik’s actions in this story. How many of you could give up what the Hero of Time gave up? All that hard work, the destroyed identity and loss of family and friends?  
> So what official timeline does this story follow? Most likely the Adult Timeline, sad as that is for the original Hyrule. Then again, how many can be bothered to care what happens a thousand years down the line if they knew the future? Not many. It’s much too far into the future.


End file.
